


AU Yeah NicoMaki!

by Aaronmizuno



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: All The Tropes, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, College, Drabble Collection, Drama & Romance, Dubious Plot Device Males, F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Soulmates, Swearing, single parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-20 08:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15530124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaronmizuno/pseuds/Aaronmizuno
Summary: A collection of drabbles in honor of AU August, all in honor of m'favorite ship.Probably won't make it for every day, but one can dream, right? Link to the calendar being used in the doobly-doo at the bottom.Might continue to use this as a drabble dump after August is over since Berserker won't go on forever and I need to get my AUs out somehow.Prompt glossary will be in chapter 1 and will include warnings as necessary.





	1. Soulmates

**Here's the prompts. All have good ends 'cause that's what makes me happy. <3  
**  
**1 - Soulmates** (Pretty heated, still mostly worksafe.)

 **2 - College** (Some violence, alcohol use, and a good end to what could have been a bad situation.)

 **3 - Single Parent** (Legit Autism Disorder references and grown-up problems. Dialog may be too crunchy for people who can't handle stretch marks.)

 **4 - Enemy**  (Psychological magic-girl inner journey.)

 **5 - Laundromat**  (So. Very. Flirtatious. Also magic.)

 **6 - Hogwarts**  (Love potions and werewolfs and lesbians, oh my!)

 **7 - Famous** (Two superstars collide. ~Fireworks~)  
  
**8 - Paradigm Shift** (Maki loves idols, Nico is a music prodigy. Very Ouran/Utena/KLK high-energy fun-trip. Very over the top.)  
  
**9 - Summer Camp** (A test of courage... with  _real_ monsters!)

 **10 - Secret Agent** (Undercover Nico has a rough time until she meets an angel in white. Then things get worse!)

 **11** **\- Mermaid** (Thiiiiis is sappy, with an  _awful_ gag reel)  
  
**12 - Royalty** (A Princess's Diary)  
  
**13 - Fake Dating**  (She thought it was a one-sided opportunity that would incidentally help her career. Gets a little painful, but they come around. One of the timelines referenced in Berserker.)  
  
 **14 - Reincarnation** (Coming tomorrow! Couldn't I just like... copy the whole rest of Berserker into here?)

 

 

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 1 - Soulmates  
**

* * *

 

The idea of being made for someone else never made sense to her.  
  
Never sounded appealing.  
  
Sure, the concept of an idol was that you were for _everyone…_ that you lived, breathed, danced, and sang for the smiles of all. Ultimately, however, as Yazawa Nico had come to determine, you couldn’t raise the spirits of someone else if you yourself weren’t into it.  
  
The crowds cheers fed her _endless_ energy. Their smiles lifted her heart to heights that her family simply couldn’t have prepared her for. It might have _seemed_ like she was constantly giving her all for her fans… but truthfully she didn’t have enough time on stage, connected to social media, or in front of the camera to give even a fraction back of what she received.  
  
She struggled with that fact for a while. The core of her ideology was threatened. The girls of forever ago back in her first year of high school, echoing ‘self-important hustler’ and ‘egomaniacal glory hound’ had led to more than one dressing room anxiety attack.  
  
What if they were right? What if she was _only_ doing this to satisfy herself?...  
  
Four years, seven movies, one stage play musical, and two concert tours later, she had long accepted, without a doubt, that _of course_ she was doing it to satisfy herself. Why have shame over doing what you love? What kind of idealistic garbage could _possibly_ apply to living a life where you _don’t_ indulge yourself for the sake of yourself?  
  
You’re not made for anyone except for yourself. No other person was your ‘other half’. Everyone is born, lives, and dies as a singular existence. Sure, you can spend time with others… Nico had spent time with a _lot_ of others… and life was _far_ richer for those experiences.  
  
… but the concept of another person that _completes_ you?  
  
Bullshit.  
  
You don’t live your best life waiting for someone else to show you who you are… or really by waiting at all.  
  
You… keep moving forward.  
  
You keep… you just keep moving.  
  
As long the crowds cheer and the notifications keep flowing… you’re connected.  
  
That’s really all you need. Chasing the horizon, revel in validation where you can find it, don’t hesitate or look back on what might have been… because it didn’t. It couldn’t… and because it hadn’t, it _clearly_ shouldn’t.  
  
‘Meant to be’ is a concept for those not willing to take the responsibility to _make_ it be… and if Nico wanted it… if she really wanted it… she would fight to _have_ it.

 

 

* * *

 

The idea of being made for someone was painfully obvious.  
  
Painful because there were too many potentials that fit those criteria. Too many possibilities and pre-determined scheduled durations to endure. Being made for another… meant that you were never truly your own.  
  
The miraculous fever dream that her first year of highschool had been was now just a collection of _things._ Framed photographs and posters collecting dust on the wall… not that Waki-san ever permitted dust to collect on them _or_ the long untouched piano in the foyer. Reminders of a time when she filled the slot of being made for eight wonderful, beautiful, boundlessly energetic friends. By playing her role and being what she needed to be, she was blessed with experiencing their joys, hardships, triumphs, and dreams…  
  
Then, admittedly a little later than scheduled, her place at their side expired. She was permitted to keep the memories as one after another, they left with parts of her heart. Just as grandmother, her cousin Shirou, and Makoto Omine before, they too set off as they found their next scheduled match.  
  
Obviously they were the hardest to watch leave. The bitter parting of Eli and Nozomi’s honeymoon extravaganza that ended on distant shores where they remained. The year away that Kotori took that turned into a career. The strange entropic parting-not-parting of simply not having frequent contact with Honoka and Umi. Rin and Hanayo’s long awaited sequel of the third years’ departure.  
  
All of them to a one… on to their next adventure. Maki had another scheduled fit of her own. Tutors and classes. Lectures and demonstrations. Hands-on training to accelerate through the torrential downpour of biology, chemistry, and their applications. One week she was following through on the design that made her most useful for a patient with a poorly aligned spine and tremendous difficulties with her hip. The next she was called upon to fill her role in helping a woman who called her a friend (despite never inquiring to her emotional state) get over yet another failed relationship through providing intimacy and a patient ear. The next, she would watch as the woman would fall again into the next person she claimed was… her person.  
  
Her soulmate.  
  
Maki knew she was made for many people. Time and emotions were fluid. Tears and pain could easily become love and rage. Serotonin could be substituted for with Wellbutrin. Intimacy could be replaced with study and alcohol, though the latter tended to nullify the effects of the former. The next candidate her parents would suggest as the… next person she may have been made for… _he_ could wait.  
  
Ultimately, the reward wasn’t for herself. It was for the person she was made for at the moment. If destiny was to be believed, then every passing, every turning, and every back she watched disappear into the distance… well… the results of the tests spoke for themselves. She was the next in line. She fulfilled her roles. She provided what was needed with the assurance that with care and time… they would not only recover. They would thrive.  
  
There… wasn’t any point to looking back. She had too many roles ahead. Too many people that she would be there for. Far too much… to be so preoccupied with the first person to _really_ make her believe.  
  
It had been years. Complete silence since it became clear she could no longer provide _exactly_ what was needed. Gone… but her ghost remained. On the television. On the radio. On posters and sponsored ads. On friends feeds she couldn’t bring herself to not torture herself over in the late hours after her latest person had taken her fill and rolled over for the night.  
  
She was clearly so happy now. Without her.  
  
It wasn’t even with bitterness when the thought occurred aloud, “Maybe it’s because she took mine with her.”  
  
A murmured suggestion to go to sleep beside her left ignored. She, again, probably wouldn’t be sleeping tonight. Her finger would hover over the ultimate sin… until her battery would run dead or she’d pass out. Whichever came first.  
  
“ _I was wrong. You were right. Do you think I could be yours again?”_

* * *

 

What was supposed to be a casual glance destroyed her plans for the day. This wasn’t Cocoa seeking advice about that guy… it was _her._  
  
A flurry of texts, bookings and cancellations. No explanations given. A pledge to personally refund _every_ ticket due to a “family emergency.” She didn’t question. It’s what she wanted to do… and it was clearer than ever just _how badly_ she wanted to.  
  
She didn’t even pack. Nico was out the door, dashing from the hotel and tearing open the door to her cab. She had a flight to catch. A moment to seize. Some crow to feed and a stupid… beautiful girl to shake.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks again Maki, you’re _really_ a life-saver,” the woman she’d left for class with, Kaede breathed. Inwardly, a vague confliction over whether it came as a disappointment, a twinge of pain, or just a relief.  
  
Thanks always preceded the expected inevitable conclusion.  
  
“I was just feeling _so low_ after Mori-senpai… but I think I’m going to be alright now,” she assured. Full of energy. Bright smiles and confident eyes, “You really helped remind me that I’ve got plenty to offer.”  
  
“You don’t need _me_ to remind you of that,” Maki answered flatly. She’d seen the text alert from her friend’s on-again-off-again flame.  
  
“Yeah… but still. You’re the best,” Kaede offered once more, winking and twirling a few steps away, “Things just have a way of working out after we talk.”  
  
Before Maki could bring up the text, prompt the conversation the girl was leading up to, and accelerate her intended disengage, someone grabbed her hand and yanked her back. Whoever it was, was short. Strong. Vicious.  
  
… and in that violent moment, she felt the song return.  
  
Deadly serious crimson eyes glared past at her friend. Delicate fingers bit into her wrist as thin pink lips snarled and barked, “Excuse me. I need to borrow her for a minute.”  
  
“Uhh… who the hell ar-”  
  
_“Shut up,”_ Nico growled, “Shut up and _back off_ .”  
  
The music surged where for so long there had been only silence. Stunned beyond the point of thought, Maki felt the surreality crash against her suddenly raw nerves. Her vision blurred as bystanders turned to watch Kaede wince away. In retreat, she protested, “Let go o-”  
  
_“I said_ **_shut up_ ** _,”_ Nico raged before turning her feral glare toward Maki, “Let’s go.”  
  
“Maki, who _is_ this sh-”  
  
Nico let go. The music dimmed. Her heart _felt_ the world diminish and floundered toward the retreating woman. Mouth open, eyes plaintive, hand reaching.  
  
Completely unheeding of the growing campus crowd, it’s murmurs or smartphones, Nico prowled up to Kaede and hissed, _“Don’t you_ **_ever_ ** _touch her again.”_  
  
Kaede pressed her back against the Sadamoto Science Hall, Nico’s fists balled and her face red as she threatened, _“Look at me. I’m being serious here. She is_ **_mine._ ** _Do you get that?”_  
  
Nico turned, eyes wild and stance wide, “ _That goes to_ **_ALL_ ** _of you.”_  
  
Before she could go any further, Maki crossed the distance. Crashing cymbals and torrential violins. She captured Nico’s wrist just as ferociously as Nico had her’s and wordlessly pulled her back. Nico half-turned, breathing heavily, face flushed.  
  
Maki led, Nico followed. Then Nico led and Maki tried to keep pace. Then Maki had to steer Nico from the straight path back to her dorm. Then they were running. Dashing. Racing. Glaring. Gasping.  
  
“What the _hell_ are you doing here?” Maki accused, cheeks streaked with hastily applied makeup and tears.  
  
“You’ve got a _lot_ of nerve, asking me that,” Nico barked. Clearly unwinded. Totally unfair.  
  
The door swung wide. The guard began his standard “guest must sign in” speech but was left ignored. The elevator was a terrible idea, so they raced the stairs. The vertical hall echoed with gasping breath, pounding footfalls, and resounding percussion that Maki was certain only she could hear.  
  
The burst from the stairwell. Slammed into Maki’s dorm’s door. The breath that should have been spent catching up was burned in a bitter, “ _Answer the damn question, Nico.”_  
  
The door flew open and Nico shoved Maki into the room, slamming, locking, dead-bolting, and kicking the door behind her. She spun around, form indistinct in the poorly lit room but her eyes _burned_ as she growled, “ _You_ messaged _me…_ **_four years too late!”_ **  
  
Maki had shrugged off her cardigan and started in on the buttons of her shirt as she stalked forward, woodwinds and strings raising the already impossibly high tension, **_“YOU left me for DEAD when I wasn’t EXACTLY what you wanted!”_ **  
  
Nico was mimicking Maki’s disrobing. Still in practice for changing quick, only unfairly sheer material covered her modesty, “For _dead_ ? Don’t you think that’s a little dra-”  
  
But Maki had crossed the distance, crashing into and lifting Nico up. The door behind them shuddered as they impacted, mouths too busy to continue yelling, hands assisting one another’s frantic stripping. Maki’s shrill cry of frustration countered Nico’s growl of intent.  
  
Maki pulled back, turning and shoving Nico further into the room lit only by covered window. Her hip collided with the desk, knocking over a stack of cans. “Ow! Shit, Maki!”  
  
“You took the _best_ of me when you left!” Maki growled, moving forward on memory of the room’s layout alone, “ _You took my_ **_music! You took YOU!”_ **  
  
She shoved Nico again, this time toward the bed. She heard the smaller woman hit the mattress and laugh as she fell on top of it. Maki stalked forward, not appreciating the mirth at all as she continued to rage, “ **_You_ ** couldn’t be _bothered_ to meet me halfway! You just… up and _vanished_ into the limelight. You took _everything and_ **_left ME behind!_ ** ”  
  
_“You_ could have messaged me _ANY time!”_ Nico fought back snaring Maki’s wrist as she approached and pulling her closer. She captured Maki by the cheeks and growled, “I _never_ blocked you. This is the first time you’ve reached out in _four damn years._ FOUR years!”  
  
_“I was a stupid sixteen year old girl that just had her heart ripped out and her_ **_music_ ** _stolen from her!”_ Maki roared in reply, headbutting forward and straddling the woman, “My _music!_ My… my…”  
  
“I’m here now…” Nico said simply, her voice calm and her hands in Maki’s hair.  
  
The moment stood still… but the air was charged with a symphony of hope.  
  
“... Take me with you,” Maki managed, barely able to stand the embarrassment of her tears falling so freely.  
  
“Away from this?”  
  
“From _everything_ ,” Maki sobbed, “I… none of it… I don’t… it can’t… I don’t _want_ to be anyone else’s anymore...”  
  
“So you’re saying you want to...”  
  
“I never stopped being yours,” Maki ground out, “It… it just doesn’t work… without you…”  
  
“... Alright then,” Nico answered, then sighing in relief, “That… I can work with that.”  
  
Maki curled tighter. Nico smoothed her hair. Hands became restless, and soon they were swept up once more, stopping frequently to Nico’s amusement as Maki made certain to jot or hum every snippet of song that came to her...  
  
The tabloids were aflame the next day… then week… and then year as scandal turned celebrity couple… and celebrity couple became a dynamic act that elevated Nico’s career to the level of international superstar. Nicomaki was real… and as the fans would attest, it was about damn time.

 

* * *

 

  
The first in a calendar I saw on Lonelypond/Blinkkittylove’s tumblr (<https://lonelypond.tumblr.com/post/176474730617/au-yeah-august>) that I may or may not be messing with. Let’s see how many of these drabble-sized thoughts I can manage.  
No guarantees on length or quality, but hey, this is fanfiction. You knew the risks when you came to this den of sin. <3  
  
Quick note on the idea of soulmates. Not a fan. I prefer the idea of souls traveling together and _that_ being the “predestined” method of connection. One of choice rather than design. The idea here is pretty easy to read. Once the soulmate connection is established, things don’t go well if you try to break them. Maki refused to follow the musical path with Nico, sticking with the original medical route… so the bond took her music from her. Pretty nasty, given that she really _should_ have finished school first, but since when did fate care about societal norms?  
  
I swear that not all of the prompts will be volatile like this one. I  _do_ like Maki, I swear I'm not just trying to be mean to her!


	2. College

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 2 - College**

  


She really just needed some fresh air.  
  
Rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck, Nicole “Nico” Yazawa suppressed a yawn, trying to avoid looking _too_ disgusted by the pungent cocktail of probably a dozen different vape flavors clouding the air. It was almost as bad _outside_ of the party as it was _in_ there.  
  
Most of her friends had already paired off for the evening, which was all and well. She’d vetted their intendeds and had given enough edge to her well-wishes for those boys to behave. She’d built up a reputation around the campus that had the fortunate side effect of making the guys fear her… and the _unfortunate_ one of no jock, nerd, or socially aware boy wanting to be alone with her for any longer than necessary. Just as well. She had better things to do than get tied up in something like _that._  
  
The petite socialite leaned into her cane more heavily, pouting at her cup that was nowhere near as full as she’d thought it had been on her way out. She’d have to meander back in if she wanted more of that hella sweet, shockingly pink, trash can to blast the rest of her night away. She wouldn’t have cheer practice, that she’d only be sitting in on anyway, until late afternoon, so it’s not like she wouldn’t have time to nurse a hangover… and watching her friends (particularly Masika with the adorable hot pink headscarf she’d gotten her during a date that apparently _wasn’t_ a date) saunter off with the Kappa boys…  
  
Yeah… _definitely_ a ‘blast your woes with booze’ night.  
  
Nicole swirled the last of her drink and threw it back, earning her a cheer of, “ _Yeah!_ Go Nico~!~” from Seth Sherman, the perpetually stoned guy in her bio-chem class.  
  
She returned his call with a smirk and flipping him off, which sent him into a fit of giggles. Seth was fun. He was easy to make smile. She hadn’t realized how down she’d been getting until her spirits raised from listening to that goofball laugh.  
  
Yeah. She needed another drink.  
  
She started the slow process of hobbling back in, waving her hand through what reeked of cherry, root beer, patchouli, pot, and strawberries to futilely try and cut a path. No dice, but as she turned her head to cough as licorice joined the scent rave, she caught a sight that set her on full alert.  
  
Nate Brodman and Bradson Turner, bench-warmer running backs for the Palisades, helping a barely coherent girl stumble away from the scene. No… not help. Practically carry. One arm around either of their shoulders, her feet were barely scraping the ground.  
  
“Hey!” Nico called out, making a _very_ slow beeline toward the pair, “Hey _Brodman_ , I’m _talking_ to you!”  
  
Turner said something to Brodman, lost amidst the resounding chorus of A-RISE’s latest offering for radio dominance. The two slowed as Turner got a firmer hold on the lanky redhead, Brodman turning to answer wearily, “Whaddaya want, Nico?”  
  
Nico glared, more certain of her initial assessment. She continued approaching, taking care not to push too hard. Difficult, because she _wanted_ to be sprinting in full tilt as she answered, “Who you got there? I don’t recognize her.”  
  
“You _wouldn’t,_ ” Brodman jeered, “She’s a med student that actually _goes_ to class.”  
  
“Fuck you,” Nico growled, crumpling her cup and tossing it to the side, “How about you boys go back to the party and let _me_ get her back to her room. I’m over this.”  
  
“You look in a mirror lately?” Brodman jabbed as Turner started to slowly walk away from the scene, “You aren’t helpin’ anyone any more than you’re ever gonna cheer again.”  
  
“Rude,” Nico shot back, brushing past the boy that easily had two and a half feet and a hundred pounds on her, “Where do you think you’re goin’ Turner?”  
  
Turner… well… turned. The redhead who apparently met a _lot_ more criteria more flattering than ‘lanky’ blinked and looked around in a daze. Either this girl couldn’t hold her alcohol or she’d I.D.ed the pair that Natalie had warned her about. The taller and broader of the two smirked and leered, “Walk away shortie… unless you wanna join in.”  
  
Yup. It was gonna be like that. She wasn’t drunk, but she was _definitely_ sauced enough to throw down. Nico punctuated his offer by smashing the foot of her cane into the boy’s nose. He dropped the girl (who immediately slumped to the ground) and covered his face, hollering some _very_ unflattering things.  
  
Without waiting, Nico tumbled forward, just missing Brodman’s reaching hand. She rose only to a crouch, still trying to avoid using her braced right leg as much as possible. As expected, Brodman took this as an opportunity to try out for a punting position on the team, but wiffed as Nico rolled aside.  
  
A solid thrust of her cane bent Brodman’s supporting knee for him, sending him crashing backwards. After making sure she was out of reach, Nico struggled to her feet and growled, “Walk away boys. Shake it off and walk away.”  
  
“Wha?... Whah’s happ… hap…,” the thankfully unaware redhead slurred, seeming to have trouble even sitting up straight. Not good. Brodman was glaring and Turner looked like he was weighing a cost analysis of immediate gratification versus jail time.  
  
Well… _this_ party went south fast.  
  
“Hey **_SETH_ ** ,” Nico yelled without looking back.  
  
“Kick their asses, Nico!” Seth called back… and if the noise behind her was any indication, the scuffle had drawn a crowd.  _Not helpful._  
  
“Shut up, Sherman!” Brodman barked, earning plenty of drunken oo’s and ah’s. Also not good. These clowns were _not_ the kind of people you wanted to give an audience… and her own reputation was _already_ kind of in the gutter as it was.  
  
“I’m serious boys,” Nico ordered softly, making sure to keep it low enough that it wouldn’t carry, “Don’t make me beat your asses in front of a crowd.”  
  
Brodman hesitated, but Turner shoved him aside, charging in like he was a linebacker. _Very_ not good. Her bad leg _already_ throbbed from the earlier exertion and her “good” leg ached from picking up the slack. Still… apparently this was big-girl time. She sucked it up and dove forward, angled just enough to skim past his side. She hissed as his knee raised just in time to thump directly into her shin, twerking it to the side and _seriously_ tweaking her injured ACL.  
  
Eyes watering too much to be sure of the move, she whipped her cane out again, this time handle first, hooking the boy’s ankle on the return. Her good leg screamed as she shot to her feet, raising the cane with both hands to pull him off balance, but was instead jerked forward as two hundred and seventy pounds of intoxicated stupidity continued to just blunder forward.  
  
She lost her cane in the exchange, but he _did_ trip. Nico was again forced to “brace” herself with her bad leg, even if just long enough for her good one to catch up. She leapt forward, looping an arm around the boy’s neck, swinging entirely around as he tried to turn back, and applied pressure just like Umi had taught her. To add to his confusion, she slapped his ear and yelled with her full-cheer-volume into the other.  
  
Turner hunched forward, stumbling toward Brodman who looked on in horror. Turner belched and shuddered, and Nico pulled away just in time to avoid the running back’s following retches. The crowd behind her cheered and the lawn flashed with smartphone camera bursts as the night turned from potentially infamous to what would likely become short-lived legend.  
  
Brodman took off, leaving Turner to relieve himself in true collegiate fashion. Nico, thankfully far enough away that the only smell was the lingering vape-stench, ignored them both, choosing instead to slide toward the much closer redhead. The girl, still mostly unaware of her surroundings happened to meet Nico’s eyes as she approached. She stopped looking around and seemed to lock on, which was a relief. Cognition of _any_ kind was a relief.  
  
“Hey there,” Nico offered, wincing as her knee well and truly started to acknowledge the past four minutes, “You alright?”  
  
The girl’s face shifted through a few emotions before settling on confusion. “Feel… k’nda sick…”  
  
Enough of the crowd had closed in to razz Turner that Nico felt safe to focus on the girl. She sucked in a sharp breath before continuing, “You should come back with me. I’ll take care of you, okay? I’m Nico.”  
  
“Nico…” the girl repeated, “I’m Maki.”  
  
“Hi Maki,” Nico pressed, “Can you stand?”  
  
Maki looked around at the crowd, then back at Nico. It looked like she was trying to sit up straight, but only managed to flop and lean to her other side. She looked frustrated and tried again, but this time didn’t even manage to flip. She pouted and shook her head, answering sullenly, “Nope.”  
  
Before Nico could answer, her cane slid over her shoulder and she heard Seth say, “That was _bad ass_ .”  
  
Nico accepted the cane and turned to thwack him in the thigh, “ _Don’t just stand there and watch next time, dipshit! UGH!”_  
  
Nico pulled out her phone, unlocked it and threw it at the still grinning boy’s face, “Call Eli. Tell her to get her ass over here. We need a ride.”  
  
“Nico?” the still confused girl called, her hand slumping onto Nico’s bad knee and sending lightning bolts searing up and down her leg.  
  
“FAH! HA!! Haha… ha…” Nico burst and twitched, carefully taking Maki’s hand off and holding onto it to keep it out of trouble, “Yeah?”  
  
“I th… I think the t’mato juice went bad,” Maki slurred, “Don’ drink th’ tomatoes.”  
  
“I promise I won’t drink any tomatoes,” Nico assured, _really_ wishing she had more of that pink stuff within reach.  
  
Maki’s eyes narrowed as she leaned in. Nico leaned back, nervous that the girl’s other hand would find some other excruciating place to land. Maki sniffed and stared for a moment before starting, “Huh… Nico…”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“You’re pretty cute,” Maki commented in surprise.  
  
Nico stared back mutely. Cute didn’t really describe the other girl, but her mind was _so_ not in the right place for that kind of thing right now. Definitely not with the bottom half of her body casually dancing into the six range of her pain index.  
  
“Nice,” Seth commented, apparently using Nico’s phone to record the exchange rather than call like Nico had asked.  
  
“Give me that!” Nico growled, cracking the boy with the cushioned handle of her cane and catching her phone as he dropped it, more from laughter than pain, “Stupid goddamn…”  
  
Three button presses and two rings later, Nico heard Eli pick up and answer with an annoyed, “Not now. We’re busy.”  
  
“Not anymore you’re not. Bring Nozomi too. I need your help.”  
  
A pause. Shifting in the background, “What’s wrong?”  
  
“Your girl Nico saved the princess and now she needs a ride… and maybe a wheelchair.”  
  
“Oh my god! Are you alright!?” Eli asked as the background noise flew into overdrive.  
  
“Nico’s kind of cute,” Maki interjected straight into the phone.  
  
“Oooooh my god,” Nozomi chipped in, her voice rising from the background.  
  
“Very nice,” Seth added.  
  
“Both of you, shut up,” Nico aimed at Seth and the phone before turning to Maki, poking her on the nose, and ordering, “ _You_ can keep that up, after we get whatever those stains got in your system… and I’ve downed like… twenty painkillers.”  
  
Maki nodded gravely before apparently deciding that Nico’s lap would make a good place to lay her head and go to sleep. By some miracle, she managed to avoid exacerbating her aggravated legs, but now the crowd had stopped making fun of Turner (who had apparently vacated) and realized there was a local celebrity with a hot girl curled up on her lap to snap pictures of and post with claims, “I was there!”  
  
Nozomi’s laughter never stopped as Eli, who sounded like she was holding back herself, assured, “We’ll be right there. Pearlman’s right?”  
  
“Yeah… thanks.”  
  
The phone disconnected. Nico rested her hand in the already sleeping girl’s hair and looked at the stars, hazy with the buzz that was still lingering, and sighed, “Ugh... Fuck my life…”

 

 

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

  
Just in case I never return to this, which is a startlingly appealing headcanon space to play in, rest assured that Turner and Brodman were kicked off the team and expelled shortly afterward. I usually don’t like having such blatant irredeemable villains, but this is a drabble and they ain’ the stars.  
Maki didn’t get to play much of a role this time around, but that would _absolutely_ change if/when I come back to this. This AU project might be more dangerous than I imagined…  
Also, yes imagination, give me more badass Nico.  
  



	3. Single Parent

“Casey Ackerman?” the nurse called out, looking out over the waiting room and meeting eyes with the girl’s parent.

  
“Come on sweetie,” Nico soothed, ruffling the girl to her left’s hair as she wearily slid out of her chair, “That’s our cue.”   
  
“Lights… camera… action!” the girl cheered, paying more attention to her hands as she pantomimed lights shining down onto an imagined stage than where she was going. The other adults in the room stared in confusion at the proclamation, as they always did, but the duo were already passing into the small network of hallways.   
  
The nurse, focused mostly on the chart in her hands, spoke directly to Nico as they rounded the counter and started down the main drag, “Mrs. Ackerman, it looks like she’s about due for her boosters… and we should really add the tetanus a-”   
  
Before the woman could continue, the procession was intercepted by a taller woman who casually plucked the chart from the nurse’s hand and assured, “Thank you Nattie, I’ll take it from here.”   
  
The nurse stared in confusion and Nico’s eyes widened at the sight of familiar cheeks, sharp eyes, and dark red hair shaped to accentuate the roundness of a face she hadn’t seen in years. Her voice froze in her throat, which really was fine. She needed a moment to figure out  _ exactly _ what she wanted to say about the intrusion.   
  
“Right this way, Mrs. Ackerman. Hello Casey,” Maki greeted formally at first and warmly the second, keeping her eyes focused on the still-pantomiming girl, “We’re heading to studio two.”   
  
The girl’s gaze lifted for a second before looking to the left, smiling, and murmuring, “Make up. Shooting starts in twelve.”   
  
Maki held the door, finally daring to make eye contact with Nico as she entered. To most, her expression was probably as passive and unreadable as always… but most people didn’t know how to translate the microtensions, lines, and aura of this woman like Nico could. Out of practice as she was, all the vowels and slang fell right back into place.   
  
“You look well,” Maki directed in Casey’s direction.   
  
“You don’t,” Nico pointed out, and it was an understatement. Not a jab, just an observation which was left in the air to be ignored.    
  
“Makeup,” Maki prompted, earning another spark of recognition from the girl who leaned forward, eyes still facing to the left as she batted them overdramatically and made a kissy face.   
  
“Ears,” Maki prompted, swiftly checking either side with her scope and cycling through the basics in themed fashion. “Blush,” preceded a swipe of a thermometer, “Mascara,” a pupil dilation test, “Sound check,” a noisier tonsil/throat check.   
  
“I figured you were the one that came up with all that,” Nico sighed, having difficulty watching but completely unable to look away. Worse, the other woman continued to press on in her unfailingly professional, if somewhat altered way, wrapping up the fundamentals with slow breathing.   
  
“Alright, it looks like you’re ready,” Maki assured, “What are we filming today?”   
  
“We’re… we’re…” Casey trailed, ignoring the wisps of hair that had fallen in front of her face as she looked from left to right, “Finn and  _ Mister Universe _ … and… Mister… Steven Universe  _ the Movie.” _   
  
Maki’s eyes flicked toward Nico again for a moment. Then the chart was back in her hands and announced, “I need to get your props. Who are you playing today?”   
  
Casey looked away and resumed pantomiming. Nico stepped in with, “Too wordy. Casey. Who’s your favorite gem?”   
  
“Garnet, Amethyst..., and Pearl… and  _ Steven _ !” Casey sang before trailing off, “... and… Amethyst.”   
  
“Thank you,” Maki silently mouthed Nico’s way as she stood, “Alright, you wait right here.”   
  
Nico rose to stand in her way, eyes piercing and completely torn on how to process the unexpected whirlwind encounter. Maki, whose eyes had remained on Casey, was caught off guard by the sudden obstacle. She had to stop short and even back up a step as Nico pressed, “I didn’t expect to see you.”   
  
Maki swallowed, averted her eyes and sidestepped her. She quietly responded with, “I need to go get her shots.”   
  
“Make sure  _ you’re _ the one that comes back to give them,” Nico warned, earning her an anxious nod before she let the…  _ much _ taller woman pass. The hell did  _ she _ need to be wearing heels for? As the door latched from Maki’s departure, Nico felt the steel bend and her shoulders relax. She padded over to her daughter and slumped down beside her, looping an arm around the girl who continued to cycle through the previously mentioned show’s opening in piecemeal fashion.   
  
“What the hell are you doing, Maki?”    
  
  


* * *

 

It didn’t take long for her to return… and it  _ was _ Maki that slid into the room instead of one of the numerous others it could have been at the practice. Obviously there was more going on here than just randomly sitting in on someone else’s patient… whether it was your practice or not.   
  
“Thank you for waiting,” Maki offered on auto, still avoiding eye contact as she approached, “Dr. Nuoamar sends her best.”   
  
“So you pulled rank for this stunt?” Nico suggested with… admittedly unnecessary hostility, “I was worried she’d left the practice.”   
  
“Entirely my fault. She can take over anytime you want,” Maki assured as she knelt in front of her little girl, “Casey, are you ready for your big scene?”   
  
“Uh huh” Casey answered distantly before resuming reciting the names in the earlier referenced show’s credit line.   
  
To Nico, Maki offered three strips of cloth and continued, “Does she prefer coarse or smooth?”   
  
Nico glared at the offering. The moment wasn’t going to go away, so she rolled with it and accepted all three. A quick thumb brush test led to Nico responding, “You have anything rougher than this?”   
  
Maki opened a drawer under their seating and produced a strip of burlap. Nico took this, nodded, and offered the girl the brown material with a gentle, “A’right kiddo. Rub this like it’s a scratch-off.”   
  
“Oooh, I like scratch offs,” Casey answered, hunkering down and thumbing over the material with focus.   
  
Nico nodded toward Maki and said, “Dr. Nishikino’s gonna do some work on your arm, so you just focus on that, okay?”   
  
“Okay…” Casey murmured distractedly.   
  
Nico nodded for Maki to get to work. She managed to get two boosters in before Casey turned her head, her eyes still on the fabric, and grumbled, “Hey, hey. That’s enough…  _ Steven… _ ”   
  
Maki apologetically asked, “Can I do one more?”   
  
“The bits?” Casey pouted before going into a faint quiet falsetto and mimicking, “Nooooooo  _ Steven _ . Noooooo!”   
  
Nico leaned in and brushed her hair back, “Just one more. For Mama?”   
  
Casey frowned, “You can’t make porkchops…”   
  
Nico smirked and held back a snort, “Yeah yeah, no porkchops  _ or _ hotdogs. Mama needs these too. Can you do one more?”   
  
“Cheese-burger back-pack. Cheese-burger back-pack,” Casey began to chant, and Nico nodded again to Maki, who went in for the tetanus shot.   
  
“Hey hey!” Casey frowned, looking over in alarm, “You stop that.”   
  
“All done,” Maki pulled away, hands out and voice apologetic, “Good job.”   
  
“Good job,” Nico echoed, pulling her pouting girl in for a one-armed hug, “Both of you.”   
  
“Literally what I get paid for,” Maki brushed off, but at least now she looked like she was smiling for more than Casey’s sake.   
  
“Can you… stay for a minute?” Nico asked, surprising herself with how nervous the question made her feel.   
  
“It’s pretty busy today… Can I take you both to dinner?” Maki counter offered, brushing her strangely trimmed hair. Nico wasn’t sure she liked it.   
  
“Kinda makin’ a leap there, aren’t you? Where you got in mind?” Nico teased shakily.   
  
“The Hard Rock, down on Seventh?” Maki replied suspiciously quickly, “I… actually have a reservation for five thirty.”   
  
“A  _ confident _ leap,” Nico deadpanned. Still… an unexpected break from the house and a chance to clear the air was… tempting. Maki made the first move this time. A bold one… one that stood in the face of propriety in her all-important career. With a sigh, Nico answered, “I don’t know…”   
  
There it was. That tightening at the corners of her eyes… only  _ far _ stronger than Nico could remember her allowing.  _ Anyone _ would be able to notice  _ this _ expression.   
  
“Please?” Maki persisted. Her voice was almost as unreal as her face.   
  
Nico stared back and swallowed. She didn’t know what the woman was up to, but now there was no way she could refuse this. Years late as it may be… there was too much history to walk away from a face like that.   
  
“You’re payin’, Princess.”   
  
  


* * *

 

Casey stared at the enshrined guitar mounted on the wall, tapping her finger to the restaurant’s background music. Nico had gotten in early and apparently her name was on the reservation. An order of chicken tenders and a margherita flatbread were on the way.  
  
A sprite sat mostly untouched in front of Casey and Nico was already half way through her first beer when Maki slid into the booth across from them. With her lab coat off, Nico could immediately tell that she’d kept on providing massage therapy _and_ wasn’t eating enough.  
  
“Hey,” Maki offered.  
  
“Hey,” Nico answered.  
  
“ _Hey! Hey! We are a hurricane!_ ” Panic at the Disco sounded off in the background, making both women snort at the coincidence.  
  
“You look good,” Maki continued.  
  
“You still look like you’re living off caffeine and meth,” Nico offered back casually before taking another pull from her bottle.  
  
Maki sighed, “It was Adderall, not meth… and I haven’t used since college.” Maki shifted her attention to the still-guitar-enraptured Casey and asked, “How are you doing, Casey?”  
  
“I’m fine,” Casey answered without answering.  
  
“Casey’s almost through 4th grade,” Nico filled in, “Mendermill’s got a pretty good program… so… thanks for the recommendation.”  
  
“Schoooooool’s out for summer,” Casey added distantly before noticing the previously ignored drink.  
  
Nico continued, wanting to cut through the pleasantries, “She hasn’t seen him since before she was in Kindergarten. The asshole bailed once he was back around enough to notice what was up.”  
  
“I heard,” Maki eased in, looking tense again. The waiter made his appearance with the appetizers and left with Maki’s request for coffee and water.  
  
“That flatbread’s mostly for you,” Nico stated, sliding the plate towards Maki before doing the same with the chicken basket for Casey once the man was out of earshot, “... and we’re not leaving ‘til it’s finished. Who’s taking care of you these days?”  
  
Maki’s eyes dropped as she plucked up a segment, “I’ve got a lot of practice at the solo act.”  
  
“That’s a waste,” Nico replied, wagging a chicken tender at Maki as Casey arranged the sauce tubs at 11 and 2 around her plate, “Let me guess, too busy to be lonely?”  
  
“Somehow I find time to manage,” Maki deadpanned before taking a bite. She chewed and didn’t break eye contact when continuing, “... and I’m not sorry for dropping in on you like this.”  
  
“Good,” Nico answered as she chewed, “You should be sorry for ditching me after I chose Ray… rather, for leaving me with no option _but_ Ray.”  
  
Wordlessly, Maki pulled out a phone, and an old one at that, sliding it across the table. The messages were up, and it had their old usernames. Nico eyed Maki, who was _really_ struggling with something, so she turned her attention to the text conversation.  
  
Nico’s brow furrowed, “... I never wrote this.”  
  
“I know. I knew then… at least after an hour or two,” Maki confirmed, reaching over and swapping to another conversation, “He did.”  
  
Nico eyed the conversation. Heat boiled in her chest for _numerous_ reasons. Her hand raised, hailing their waiter. “Two more of these.”  
  
“Just one, please,” Maki demurred.  
  
“Who said either were for you?” Nico glared, “Two more and a Jack and Coke.”  
  
“Do you need some more time for your orders?” he prompted, clearly suggesting that food would probably be good to pair with all the alcohol.  
  
“Ribs,” Nico grunted, “Loaded baked potato on the side. What do you want, Casey?”  
  
Without looking, Casey answered, “The _Big_ Cheeseburger.”  
  
Nico amended, “No sauce, and put the veggies on the side,” before nodding toward Maki.  
  
Maki nodded her head toward the flatbread in her hand.  
  
Nico stepped in again, “She’ll take a Waldorf Salad, please and thank you.”  
  
Maki pouted and finally Nico felt the urge to smile. She gave into it. The waiter left and Nico leaned over to press a kiss into Casey’s hair before offering her phone. Casey quickly accepted, booted up Youtube and plugged in a pair of headphones.  
  
Nico turned to Maki and hissed, “Are you shitting me with this?”  
  
Maki just chewed… which was fair. She _did_ just take a bite. Nico didn’t wait before continuing, “If you know _he_ was the one that wrote it, then why didn’t you _say_ anything?”  
  
“You remember our last conversation very differently than I do,” Maki droned, “Mostly because I was too stupid to think straight, let alone speak it.”  
  
“Too angry as I remember it,” Nico commented, finishing her beer and claiming a segment of flatbread, “ _Jesus_ **_fuck_** , Maki… I woulda put that boy in the _ground_ if I knew.”  
  
“All I could see was you taking his side,” Maki answered, somehow managing to maintain eye contact, “I thought he was just… telling me what you didn’t want to say. I had a lot of ideas and absolutely no proof… except those conversations and that last time the three of us were together.”  
  
“He _knew_ how you felt about the situation and he _still_ tried pulling that? That disgusting…”  
  
Maki seemed to relax. The light betrayed some extra shimmer in her eye as she explained, “You were just… so excited when you found out Casey was on the way… and you always used to joke about _me_ … you know…”  
  
“Yeah,” Nico ground out, taking a break as the drinks came to unscrew her next bottle and after the waiter left slide the harder drink Maki’s way, “...but not to _him._ If _you_ were going to, I wanted it to be because of _me._ ”  
  
The shimmer turned to streams as Maki struggled to rein in what was _easily_ the most public display Nico had ever seen from her. Nico continued as she ground her palms into her eyes, “God… _how_ many years? Just because you couldn’t just… I don’t know… be selfish? Fight for yourself? For what _you_ want?”  
  
“You were… pretty clear about where you stood,” Maki wavered, “Love doesn’t mean forcing yourself on someone else…”  
  
“He’s been gone for years, Maki… why just now?”  
  
Maki pulled hard on her drink, grimacing and quickly chasing it with coffee before answering, “When he left, I was working on my dissertation. I didn’t find out until nearly a year later. Then there was the group study, the book, a tour, the practices... “  
  
“Yeah, you’ve done pretty well for yourself, I get it,” Nico frowned, hitting the bottle again, “... and don’t think I didn’t keep tabs. There’s a _reason_ Casey’s always been in practices affiliated with you… and not just because you’re the best game in town.”  
  
“It’s _because_ of Casey… all of it,” Maki admitted. Her voice only barely rising above the music.   
  
“... I always kinda wondered,” Nico replied, “... I mean, sure, it sounds really egotistical, but… you tended to get fixated. Have you just been working all this time?”  
  
“I tried. Honoka wouldn’t let me shut off completely… just… no one was interested once they got to know me… and I don’t think I was really giving them much of a chance either way.”  
  
“That just means they never _really_ knew you,” Nico assured, “I guess I’m just a tough act to follow, huh?”  
  
Maki remained silent. Her eyes were closed as she chewed, which didn’t seem to slow the tears at all. Casey tugged on Nico’s shoulder and pointed to the phone. She pulled the battery backup from her purse and plugged it in for her before giving her another kiss and watched her load up the next clip.  
  
“She’s actually the one who told me to finally… do this,” Maki breathed shakily.  
  
“Honoka?” Nico asked and Maki confirmed with a nod, “She’s getting a good stocking this year for Christmas.”  
  
“So,” Nico redirected, “... What does this mean? What are you looking to have happen here? Forgiveness? Hook-up opportunities? You want me to put you on call for babysitting? The first’s already there… almost. I’m _still_ pissed that you let this stand for so long… but I get it.”  
  
Nico uncapped her last bottle and set it aside, digging into the flatbread again, “You might not be able to tell, but I’m not really in the shape you’d remember me. Your nostalgia glasses probably make me look better back then than I ever really was… and Casey’s my full-time job now. Part of the separation deal. Ray’s on the hook for life, financially, and I got over half the first record deal’s worth out of his gross self when he took off. We’re _always_ together… and you, Ms. Nishikino, Reigning Expert on Autistic Disorder, _know_ what _that_ means.”  
  
That seemed to put some of the wind back in Maki’s sails. “ _Doctor_ Nishikino and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”  
  
“Alright.”  
  
“Move in with me,” Maki answered, hands on table and eyes directly on her’s.  
  
**_“Really_** confident leap,” Nico answered after a moment, “You know we’re doing fine withou-”  
  
“This isn’t charity. It’s for me. This is me being _selfish_ ,” Maki assured, “You want me to fight for myself? This is it.”  
  
Nico felt the pressure. It’d been so long since she’d felt herself get swept up like this that she almost gave in, but this wasn’t the time, “You _know_ she’s always going to be my number one.”  
  
“I’ve dedicated my entire career to learning how to be the best I can for her,” Maki said as she steadied herself, “I’ve loved her since before she was born… and… and no one else will do for me. It _has_ to be you. Both of you.”  
  
Nico grit her teeth. She shouldn’t have started that fourth beer. It wasn’t bringing the indignant anger she’d hoped to pull on… it just made it all the easier for her own stupid tears to fall, “We’re both _huge_ pains in the ass.”  
  
“You always were,” Maki brushed off, “... but at least this way I can have the benefit of getting to see you every day. Stalking your social media isn’t really the same.”  
  
“... That’s a little creepy, babe.”  
  
“You always said you liked my honesty,” Maki shrugged, “... and I never stopped wanting this.”  
  
“I’ve got _loads_ of stretch marks now,” Nico bit her lip.  
  
“I had a tumor scooped out of my ass,” Maki droned, “It left a pretty big divot too.”  
  
“ _WHAT?!_ ” Nico slammed the table, earning a look of surprise from Casey.  
  
“Totally at the fault of a medical trial I was assisting. Nothing genetic,” Maki assured.  
  
“That’s not any better!”  
  
“I’m talking about the long term, here. I can understand if you’d be leery of accepting my offer if you thought I’d expire too soon.”  
  
Nico stared at Maki’s absolutely serious and resolute face. The tears had stopped falling. Nico settled back into her seat and blew out a long breath, “... Sure. Why the hell not? You’re good with Casey, you don’t mind that I’m all gross now, and you’re… fuck, at least from what I can _see_ you’re still _unfairly_ hot. _Clearly_ a hot mess, but apparently I’m into that these days.”  
  
Maki once more broke her record for most publicly expressive as she sniffed and then covered her face as she nodded and started the _ugliest_ cry Nico had ever seen. Faintly, Nico heard her whisper, “Thank you…”  
  
“Blue!!” Casey grumbled, reaching out to lay a hand on Maki’s arm as she had doubled over onto the table, “Blue, would you _please_?”  
  
Maki’s sobs and Nico’s heavy breathing broke into mutual laughter, just in time for the food to arrive.  
  
  


* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

  
Drawing a little heavily from IRL on this one. My brother has a very similar situation to Casey, though he’s mostly Alvin and the Chipmunks and movie credit focused. I’m sorry if you haven’t seen Steven Universe because without some foreknowledge there, Casey’s reactions would make VERY little sense.   
  
The situation between these two, if I hadn’t made it clear enough in the story, is that when Nico was  _ much  _ younger, she was in a polyamorous situation with Maki and a guy named Ray Ackerman. Maki and he were  _ not _ involved, and when she turned him down, he arranged for the breakup between her and Nico. Maki, being the less-than-communicative girl that she can be, accepted what Nico had to say and couldn’t keep it together enough to properly defend herself.   
  
There’s a lot more throughout, but this is a… less pleasant headspace. Not sure I’d want to revisit this timeline.


	4. Enemy

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 4 - Enemy**

* * *

 

“Maki-chan!”   
  
The force of the ebon explosion forced Honoka to the ground, punching a handhold into the concrete to keep herself from being thrown back. Her skirt and ribbons flowing behind her, providing handholds for Rin and Kotori.   
  
“Maki-chan! You’ve  _ got _ to pull back!” Hanayo cried, adding to the force trying to uproot the red-garbed magical warrior, “We’ll regroup and come back for her… but it’s too dangerous right now!”   
  
Umi had been thrown clear of the surrounding buildings, and the two remaining third years had taken off after her. Even Hanayo seemed to have trouble maintaining her footing, dangerous given the crumbling state of the airborne island.   
  
For Maki… there was no pressure. There was no wind.   
  
There was only the roaring cries of Nico’s Synthasia gem and the harsh whimpering of the girl at the center. If  _ ever _ there was a confirmation…  _ this _ was it. Maki turned to Hanayo, who looked relieved for only a moment before she lifted one of her best friends in the world up by her spaulders.   
  
“Just trust me,” Maki said simply, before letting the girl go and allowing the gale force winds to blow her toward Honoka. She turned back toward the void-like tornado, surging with neon purple lightning, Hanayo’s cries ignored as she walked toward it’s heart.   
  
Toward  _ her _ heart.   
  
“I  _ will _ bring you back...”   
  


* * *

  
All at once, the roar was silent. The ebon tornado, Nico shivering at its center, her friends calling her name… all vanished. She was on the stairs leading to Kanda… standing behind Nico who was lounging on the stairs, sipping milk tea as Nozomi laughed at her side. They both looked so much younger…  
  
“Nicocchi, you shouldn’t make jokes like that.”  
  
What originally looked like was going to be a sip, turned to a chug. She finished the bottle before turning back, licking her lips, and locking eyes to say, “... What if I said it wasn’t a joke?”  
  
The world around them felt like freefall. Maki had to steady herself on the railing as Nozomi’s eyebrows raised… and her expression turned sympathetic. Nico already knew the answer…  
  
 ** _‘But what’s one more mistake? First year, trust your friends with your dreams and watch their backs as they walk away. Second year, give love a try since being an idol failed…’_** thundered from the sky.  
  
“I’ve already got Elicchi…”  
  
 ** _‘... and watch your friends shrug your heart away,”_** the same voice, resoundingly Nico, thundered.  
  
The sound permeated beyond Maki’s ears. It reverberated in every bone of her body… but as she watched Nico shrug it off and claim it to be a jest, Maki yelled in response, “You _know_ it wasn’t like that!”  
  
 ** _‘Wasn’t it?’_**  
  
The world swirled into the girl before her, returning the world around them to void. She stood and turned to her left, reaching out and accepting the thermos that Rin offered, the clubroom fading into existence around them.  
  
“So, are nya gonna jump straight into the idol scene after graduating or are you going to go to college first?” Rin asked, looping an arm around their club president.  
  
“I don’t know yet, I figured I’d _wade_ through the ocean of offers that’ll be waiting for me and pick which one looks best,” Nico boasted.  
  
“Right,” Maki deadpanned, “I’m sure the kids are _loving_ living in a paper pool.”  
  
“That sounds rather dangerous,” Hanayo mused.  
  
“Not everyone gets papercuts like Kayo-chin!~”  
  
“That’s not something to brag about,” Nico teased.  
  
“You _do_ have a plan though, right?” Maki asked.  
  
 ** _‘Of course you knew I didn’t.’_** ** _  
_** ** _  
_**“How could I know that?” Maki, the one currently garbed in Synthasia armor, “How could I have known _anything_ back then? _YOU_ knew I didn’t mean anything bad by it!”  
  
The Nico of two years ago turned, her expression distant and annoyed, “How could _I_ have known _that?”_ throwing her words back at her.  
  
The world strobed around them again, this time landing with Nico’s hand in Maki’s. Fireworks above. Her last year of highschool.  
  
“It’s about time you caught up,” Nico teased, leaning in and taking advantage of the crowd around them.  
  
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” the Maki of the past said aloud, mouthed verbatim by the Maki the present tense.  
  
“Yeah, because _that’s_ what happened,” Nico shook her head, “So I guess you’re immediately off to college then, right?”  
  
Maki’s hand tightened around her’s.  
  
“Come with me?”  
  
The world around them, which Maki was starting to get a feel for and acknowledging was responding to Nico’s emotional state, went cold and _electric_ at the same time.  
  
“Maki-chan…”  
  
 ** _‘Of course you knew I couldn’t…’_**  
  
“Again! _No_ I _didn’t!”_ Maki roared at the sky, the fireworks above silent and gray.  
  
 ** _‘Then you just didn’t think very far ahead.’_**  
  
 _“_ Of _course_ I wasn’t thinking! _Thinking_ isn’t how we _work, Nico!”_ Maki roared into the time-frozen scene, shimmering and blurring around her, “That’s not how _any_ of this works!”  
  
The Nico of the past turned, shifting into the Nico of the present as the world remained increasingly indistinct, “But I _had_ to think about it, Maki-chan. I couldn’t hold you back like that…”  
  
Maki bolted forward, slamming into the girl and spinning her around in a hug _almost_ too strong to be safe, “You have _never_ held me back… Even if none of _this_ had happened… we would have _made_ it work…”  
  
The stairs to Kanda started to fade in, melding with the Yoyogi strip. Nico stared in confusion, “Since when did _you_ get so open about this stuff?”  
  
“Because right now? Right now it _counts,”_ Maki strained as the world continued to dim.  
  
 ** _‘It always counted.’_**  
  
“I get that now,” Maki admitted bitterly, “I’ve had enough of this ‘living with what ifs’... so...”  
  
“Get it together… come back to us.”  
  
Maki pressed her spirit through her Synthasia, making the sky reverberate around them.  
  
 ** _‘Come back to me.’_**  
  
Nico’s eyes fell. She smiled… but the air felt bitter.  
  
“Why did you have to wait until just now to finally say it?” Nico whispered, before her form collapsed inward… and the world around them collapsed into that same point… and then there was just Maki, the void… and a single titanic Synthasia crystal.  
  
Maki waited tensely, willing her suit to glow in hopes of _something_ revealing itself in this bizarre nothingness… but there was only silence and the crystal. Silence, the crystal, and her. Maki swallowed and approached the ebon gem, pushing down her panic and waiting for the next insanity to drop.  
  
But it didn’t come.  
  
She willed her gauntlet to dematerialize and pressed her palm to the gem, unsure if _any_ of this was actually physically happening. The gem was smooth. Cool. Silent.  
  
“... Is this how you’re going to answer me?” Maki chanced, glaring at the gem, “Or are you waiting for something else?”  
  
There was no echo in this space. Not even the static of silence filled the space between her questions. Maki growled, pressing harder against the gem before pulling back and spinning around, “Come on Nico… give me a clue here. _Something_.”  
  
She turned around… and nothing had changed. Just still and silence. Maki stalked around the gem, her voice growing more heated, “It’s not like any of this came with _instructions,_ Nico-chan! I spent half the time wondering if you didn’t _hate_ me… if you thought I was just some stupid little kid!”  
  
Circling the gem had led to nothing. For the first time since the backlash of Nico’s Synthasia left her untouched, Maki felt the prick of fear and doubt. Her fists balled at her side and she yelled to the void that served as sky, “If you _liked_ me so much, _why didn’t you just_ ** _say_** _so!?_ ”  
  
“Because that never works…”  
  
The voice came from above the gem. Before she had time to think, her body was already in motion, leaping back to gain clearance and up to find Nico. Her armor dull, her gem faded, her knees hugged to her chest.  
  
“Nico-chan…” Maki sighed in relief.  
  
But Nico didn’t look up. She just stared at the ground and continued, “Every time I really put it out there… things never work out. µ's worked out because, let’s be honest here, I was just along for the ride…”  
  
She grit her teeth and lowered her head further, “Without everyone else there… not a single agent was willing to hear me out. If I’d been leading instead of Honoka, µ's probably wouldn’t have stood a chance.”  
  
As Nico spoke, Maki’s gem grew brighter. Hotter. The air simmered but Nico continued, unnoticing, “I still had you as a friend… I didn’t want to risk that.”  
  
“You **_IDIOT!_** ” Maki roared, dropping to her knees to match eye level. The world lit as a whirlwind of flame surrounded the two, “All you were doing was sabotaging yourself _again!_ ”  
  
Nico met her eyes as Maki continued, “I _know_ you! I think about you… _all the time!_ _And I’m still here!”_  
  
Nico uncurled, eyes wide and hair whipping about her face. Maki shimmied closer, resting a hand on the other girl’s knee, “ _Forget_ what that thing said… forget the whole damn prophecy! None of that _matters!_ ”  
  
“Take responsibility! _You_ made me fall for you… now act like a real senpai for once in your life and show me how it’s done! Quit beating yourself up worrying about what _could_ be and come back… come back and make things what you _want_ them to be!”  
  
Maki stood, her armor melting away in the spectacular heat. The flames roared like the world’s ending as she reached down and said, “You won’t be alone… you’ll have me. Even if it’s not perfect… at least we’ll have each other.”  
  
Nico hesitated, “Maki-chan… I always find _some_ way to screw things up… I don’t want t-”  
  
“Then we’ll fix it,” Maki interrupted, the deafening roar of the flames dulled in the face of her conviction, “Together. If you’re going to be your own worst enemy, then I guess it’s up to _me_ to be your hero.”  
  
Nico stared for a moment, eyes shimmering. She sniffed and looked away, smirking and sighed, “You… are such a dork…”  
  
The whirlwind of flame was no longer stark against a blank void, the world around them brightening. Maki re-emphasized the reaching of her hand as she shot back, “Apparently you’re into that.”  
  
Nico reached back, eyes streaming tears, “I guess I am…”

 

* * *

  
  
“Maki-chan!!!” Hanayo cried, only barely being caught by Kotori before being blown off the side of the crumbling island.   
  
“Don’t worry,” Honoka assured, “If  _ anyone _ can bring Nico-chan back, it’s her.”   
  
“She’d  _ better _ bring her back,” Umi yelled, Nozomi and Eli at her sides, “I’m going to shake the ever lov-”   
  
But before Umi could finish issuing her threat, the dark void glowed crimson… and then erupted into pink light. The color evaporated the gale-force winds, and at their center… her suit no longer ebon black but soft pink, Nico was dipping Maki into a kiss that suggested, in that moment, there was no world outside of one another.   
  
  
  


* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

 

Is this cheating the prompt?   
Don’t care. <3   
  
To people weirded out by the last chapter’s story… sorry? Still, seeing those quotes out of context like that was  _ seriously _ funny.


	5. Laundromat

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 5 - Laundromat**

****  


 

Nico yawned.  
  
Comfortable as the rumbling furnace of a dryer behind her was, it was murder on keeping her coherency moving. She’d reached that impossible point where she was actually caught up on her feeds and was relying on steadily walking a pair of quarters back and forth with her left hand as she deep-dived some old fandom tags that might get updated once in a blue moon.   
  
Most of those were busts too.   
  
As she had for the past seven times, she swore she’d never wait until 1AM to get her laundry started again. You could only re-wear things so many times before the evidence couldn’t be cleared up… and as little she cared this late into her college career, there was still _some_ basics that had to be observed.   
  
If she hadn’t waited until the very edge of her wardrobe, she could at least be lounging in something cute instead of the frumpy beat-up sweats she’d kept meaning to toss. As the clock rolled past two-thirty and there had been no sign of company, Nico tapped her way to porn-town. As she idly weighed whether she was looking for a little rocking or scissoring, the door to the stairwell screeched, echoing through the basement laundromat and announcing that she should probably minimize her screen.   
  
Nico sighed, stowing her phone in her more jingly pocket and leaned back to feign napping. She was feeling sleepy, cranky, and fortunately only in the early stages of bored-horny. None of those were conductive to a good conversation. However, the embarrassed, cautious girl that waddled her basket into the room was _way_ too tempting to ignore.   
  
That said, Nico kept up the act. The slender redhead, who had apparently taken the opposite extreme in what clothes to wear last, cautiously eyed her as she dropped her massively-overburdened laundry basket onto the floor. Through _very_ narrowed, faux-closed eyes, Nico deduced that there was no way she had the necessary change on her. There was nowhere to keep it, given that she was pretty much just wearing a mostly-sheer blue nightie and matching underwear… totally at odds with the oversized white bunny slippers that comically dwarfed her unrealistically tiny ankles.   
  
Whether it was a dare or confidence that there’d be no company, the quiet curse the redhead muttered after getting half-way through loading and apparently realizing her mistake was Nico’s cue.   
  
_“Hello,”_ Nico commented, perfectly feigning that ‘just-waking-up’ surprise. The other girl’s squeak and turn, confirming that the front of the gown hid just enough to warrant what the back revealed, “Since when does this school have a modeling course?”   
  
The redhead snorted, rolling her eyes and shoulders relaxing at the jab, “It’s… all I had left.”   
  
Damn, even the way she leaned back against the washer was stacked with allure. Nico was tired, but that had nothing to do with her appraisal as she unhooked her ankles atop her second basket and hunkered forward, “All girl’s dorm or not, _that_ is one weapon’s grade outfit. I’m Nico.”   
  
“Maki,” the girl replied, averting her eyes only a moment as she flashed a smile in reply, “So… the machines...”   
  
“The machines?”   
  
“Not like the ones back home,” the girl named Maki whose hips were too wide to have a waist that small. Then, as if to bring Nico’s attention entirely back into the waking world, she _hiked up her gown_ and plucked a black credit card from it’s place against her hip, waving it as she sighed, “No card slot.”   
  
Nico _didn’t_ swallow (audibly), seizing the opportunity for entertainment by rising to her feet and waving a distracting hand as the other prepared, “Nope… and the coin exchange’s been empty since a week after the term started.”   
  
Maki looked genuinely distraught at this, which was cute… but short-lived as Nico approached and offered, “I bet we can find some, though.”   
  
“Find some?” Maki asked, confused as Nico stopped and appraised, spending a bit more time than was absolutely necessary enjoying the view.   
  
“Yup!” Nico chirped, tapping her chin and said, “It looks like you brought _plenty_ ,” before reaching up to the redheads ear and ‘producing’ three quarters.   
  
“Oh my god,” Maki groaned before laughing, “That was pretty good. You sure I can use that?”   
  
“I’m not a finder’s keepers kind of gal,” Nico winked before dropping the coins in the girls hand and immediately going for the other side, “Besides, that’s nowhere _near_ enough to get all of that clean.”   
  
“You’ve got at least three loads there,” Nico continued, procuring two more coins from Maki’s other ear, “and at a buck a piece _before_ drying, you’ve barely got enough to get started.”   
  
The formerly distressed girl was now grinning ear to ear as Nico laid it on thick, keeping those much happier eyes on the game rather than the frequent trips to her pockets to feed it. She “found” coins all over the girl’s person, her laundry, under the machine, in her _own_ ears, and just to show off... out of nowhere at all. By the end her bizarre late-night encounter was giggling enough to have a face red enough to match her hair.   
  
“Thank you,” Maki grinned, “You’re sure it’s okay?”   
  
“You should _really_ try keeping all that change in a purse or something from now on, but yeah. Absolutely. You just made my night,” Nico breezily waved off, leaning against one of the washers.   
  
“ _You_ made _my_ night… and it’s been a long one,” Maki replied as she carefully started to divy her clothes amidst the machines, “I’m guessing you dorm here too?”   
  
“If I were a less classy gal,” Nico shrugged and gestured to her frumpy sweats, “... and at least a _little_ creepy, I’d say I’ve been down here waiting for you. But no. I’ve been here for four years and I’m _still_ waiting til’ the last minute to get this crap done.”   
  
“Med student?” Maki ventured.   
  
“Law,” Nico corrected, buffing her nails against her chest, “You goin’ for nurse or deep diving all the way to brain surgery?”   
  
“Bio-chem with a focus on pharmacology,” Maki admitted, waiting a moment to finish, “It’s a lot more interesting than it sounds.”   
  
“No doubt, if you’d be explaining it,” Nico blatantly flirted, “How haven’t I seen you here before?”   
  
“I transferred in just this term,” Maki explained, “Trouble at Berkeley. Just as well, I’d’ve had to transfer eventually anyway after their program couldn’t keep up.”   
  
Nico whistled, “Yikes. Yeah, you _look_ like you could get into a lot of trouble. I hope nothing too bad.”   
  
“Maybe I brought the bad with me,” Maki smirked, taking the initiative to tap Nico on the nose, “Thanks for the help. Let me pay you back sometime?”   
  
“I could think of a few ways,” Nico grinned cheesily, “But I’d say you kept up your end of the deal.”   
  
Maki rolled her eyes again, shaking her head and glancing at the clock on the wall, “You think it’d be safe to leave this here? I’ve got coffee sitting upstairs that I’m going to need if I’m going to get this finished tonight.”   
  
“I’ve got another twenty minutes on my last dry,” Nico shrugged, “I got you.”   
  
Maki smiled her widest yet, leaning in with a one-armed hug that Nico felt unbalanced the score even more, “Thanks. Would you like one?”   
  
“Maybe in five hours when I’d actually _need_ to be awake,” Nico demurred, returning the brief pat.   
  
“Alright then,” Maki backed away, starting each of the machines in order, “... and that starts the clock.”   
  
Then, she did the weirdest thing.   
  
Maki hiked up her gown once more, pulled _Nico’s_ phone from her underwear’s strap, and tossed it back her way with a wink before turning back toward the stairwell.   
  
Nico caught the phone on reflex, staring after the girl as her mind tried to track the exchange of when the lift could have happened… but _completely_ lost the game as she looked at the phone itself… and the slip of paper wedged in its case suggesting that she ‘check her pocket.’   
  
Grinning and stomping the ground as she laughed at the play, sure enough the redhead had snuck her ‘credit card’ into her pocket, which had a blank side with the words, “You’re pretty cute. I’m in 318. ~.^” hastily scrawled.   
  
Best part… Nico had _no_ idea how she pulled it off.   
  
Trouble at Berkeley, eh? Nico rubbed her nose and checked the clock. This was _really_ out of the norm for her, but twenty minutes should be enough time to find out just what kind of trouble this Maki girl was.

  
  


* * *

**Author’s Notes**

 

Stage magic is cool, cheesy, and super fun. One of those things I always wish I’d taken the time to learn.  
  
This is another one that would be fun to expand on.


	6. Hogwarts

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 6 - Hogwarts  
** _(Izzat some 'arry Potter!?)_

  
(Foreword: Much as this is an AU for Love Live, it’s also one for the Hogwarts crew, as will be evidenced by the much older professor who canonically didn’t make it to the end of the series. I’ve actually spent a decent bit of time thinking about this AU, so if you’re wondering what happened to your favorite character in either canon, feel free to ask in the comments. Chances are I won't come back to this, so It wouldn't really be spoilers.)

* * *

  
  
“You should _really_ know better than this, Nicocchi…” Nozomi chided, handing over the requested heartwood shavings.  
  
“ _I_ don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this. If you don’t like it, why’re you helping?” Nico protested, stabbing another forkful of hash and sausage before getting back to her cauldron, “M’jus gomma mabe ib a bibbi.”  
  
“... Come again?” Nozomi deadpanned, resuming her stirring despite her protests.  
  
Nico swallowed and clarified, “A quickie! Jus’ a lil’ bit. A little come and go. It’ll only last for like… five seconds tops.”  
  
Nozomi groaned, looking around the Slytherin common room for anyone who may have taken it as she had. Only Kotori, who was at her other side confirmed this with a smirk, commenting, “You have _no_ concept of chill. Do you even realize half of what comes out of your mouth?”  
  
“The _idea_ here is to get more to go _in_ than out,” Nico frowned, triple-checking the quantity before mashing a mortar full of nuts and herbs.  
  
“... that made zero sense. Are you even listening?”  
  
“What? I’m hungry!” Nico protested, “This stupid potion has some of my favorite things in it.”  
  
“Thirsty is more like it,” Nozomi grumbled, setting her vial over the flame to simmer, “You’re _sure_ this will fade quickly.”  
  
“A hundred and fifty-nine percent sure,” Nico clipped, taking a break from grinding to grab another bite of of her egg and bacon sandwich.  
  
Kotori chimed in, “I think this is why your arithmancy scores are falling behind.”  
  
Nico frowned back, ignoring Kotori’s jab and rolling back to Nozomi, “Also, who the heck’re you t’call _me_ thirsty? For as much time as you spent coiled around that Hufflepuff hottie of yours, I’d think you’d be _happy_ I finally zeroed in on someone.”  
  
“Elicchi’s got nothing to do with this,” Nozomi brushed off, “ _I_ never resorted to potions when simple _words_ should suffice.”  
  
Nico slowed her grinding, emoting her frustration clearly as she replied, “... it’s not like that.”  
  
Nozomi leaned in, sensing progress, “What _is_ it then?”  
  
“Maki… she has trouble with words,” Nico tried to explain, “Weird thing is, when it comes t’her, I do too. Chances are I’d just scare her off or something.”  
  
“... and slipping her _this_ isn’t going to come off as scary at all?” Kotori chided, handing Nozomi a tincture that she’d completed.  
  
Nico set back to grinding, “If _she’s_ the one that says it first… then no. I _know_ how she feels already… she just needs a little push is all.”  
  
Nozomi dumped in Kotori’s contribution and tapped her vial with her wand, turning the purple fluid into a translucent pink, “You’re sure this is a good time of the month to try this?”  
  
Nico stopped grinding, setting the pestle aside and leaning in, “It’s _because_ of what time it is that I want to do this now.”  
  
She leaned back, slumping into her chair and staring at the remaining reagents glumly, “I want her to get, once and for all, that I’m not afraid of her.”  


* * *

  
  
One of the best parts of house-specific tabling was that Ravenclaws could have their peace and quiet. Papers, journals, books, magazines and muggle screens took the place of conversation. It was with this utterly content silence, filled by the dull background noise of papers shifting, other tables conversing, and the scrumptiously satisfying munching of her eighth sausage of the morning, which Maki kept her company.  
  
This morning, her partner was the newly released study by Arcturus Finnheimer on lycanthropy-stricken wizards utilizing animagus integration to bridge the mind-addling effects of their shifted forme. It was a point of study particularly interesting to the sleepy, crimson-haired wizard as evidenced by the numerous scars lacing her forearms, cheeks and, in particular, her neck.  
  
It was that larger, nastier scar which Maki couldn’t help but scratch at as she found, with _deep_ disappointment, that not a single member of the study had even gained the clarity of hindsight, regardless of which animal they’d assumed as their animagi form. Scratch one more possibility from the list of potentials.  
  
It hurt. More than she’d expected.  
  
Agitatedly, she shoved the sheaf of papers into her satchel and refocused on her breakfast anew. Her limbs ached with the latest set of growing pains and it was with no small amount of vindictiveness that she set upon the steak and eggs with vigor. It was one thing to be a teenager. It was _another_ to be a teenage werewolf on the cusp of her monthly wrestling match with her humanity.  
  
She should have known trouble was coming when the other students around her vacated. Sure, that could have been attributed to the low growl of frustration she let out as she shoveled more food onto her plate. It could have been due to the hour, as morning classes would certainly be starting soon. Instead, it was the second biggest sources of frustration in her life along with her two fellow Slytherins.  
  
“Maaaaakiii~ Hey, are you running late? Don’t tell me you got sidetracked and forgot to eat again,” Nico commented, leaning in from her side as Nozomi and Kotori settled in across from her.  
  
Frustration and a number of other equally potent competing feelings. This _really_ wasn’t a good time… not so soon after the _massive_ disappointment the study had been. She’d… kind of been riding on that being a potential resolution. Got her hopes up. Hopes that included the overly-cheery girl batting her eyes at her. Scowling, Maki doubled down on her ‘push away’ stance, which focused primarily on coming off as unappealing as possible.  
  
It usually didn’t take much effort, to be fair.  
  
“Fifth course,” Maki grumbled, looking away from her unfailingly (and unfairly) charming senior as she batted down her unruly hair, “I get hungry this time of the month.”  
  
Kotori, probably the most well connected of the Slytherins Maki knew, giggled at this and joked, “I usually like steak around my time too.” This earned her a snort from Nozomi and a frown from Nico. Good. At least the strangely fixated girl was catching on to what was and what wasn’t enjoyable commentary for her.  
  
Maki sawed into her steak, trying to keep her eyes on her plate rather than the three attentive girls as she asked, “Aren’t you going to be late for class?”  
  
“I just wanted to stop by and see how my faaaaavorite redhead in the world was doing,” Nico practically sang, leaning in to try and catch her eye.  
  
Why did she have to be like this when there were other people around? She was always so much more… subdued when it was just the two of them. Flipping the two stances around would have been more tolerable. She finished cutting and speared three of the pieces on her fork before sticking the smaller girl with a look and deadpanning, “Hungry mostly.”  
  
Ugh… this was embarrassing. It was bad enough that she’d come to the table with this chipper act, but did she _have_ to bring those two? What could have been a pleasant morning pick-me-up had easily turned into an agitation-fest as Nozomi had the gall to reach over and pluck a sausage from her plate… when the whole serving tray was between them!  
  
Sure, it was just one bite, but her nerves were already coiled so tight that she felt she wouldn’t need to change before she’d start snapping at people. Nico’s expression had fallen a little… and Maki’s frustration doubled over. She _liked_ seeing Nico being happy… and here she was bringing her down. She finished chewing, swallowed hard, lifted her mug and turned to the downcast girl.  
  
“It _is_ … good to see you though. I’m glad you stopped by,” Maki admitted in a low voice, mostly into her mug “Sorry, it’s just been a rough morning.”  
  
As she sipped the bitter, earthy tea, Nozomi let loose a fairly harsh cough, likely from the ludicrous amount of pepper Maki had laden her sausage with. She sipped, readied a quip to chide the older girl for getting what she deserved… and froze. Eyes wide.  


* * *

  
  
She drank… but at the critical moment, Maki’s eyes shifted from Nico… to Nozomi.  
  
She stared. Nozomi froze. Nico bit her lip. Kotori _grinned_ .  
  
Maki’s wide eyes flicked back to Nico’s. Plaintive. Panicked. Back to Nozomi and back to Nico again, watering. She pulled away from the table, shaking her head and teeth bared in a grimace of _raw_ dismay. Another step, she let out a soft, “No…”  
  
Her brow furrowed, before taking off, she pinned Nico with an even more intense pained look and bolted, stumbling over her chair as she ran from the great hall. She even left her bag behind.  
  
Kotori hid her face behind her hands and breathed, “Oh my _god_ , that could _not_ have gone any worse…”  
  
Nozomi looked to Nico with wide-eyed sympathy, “Nicocchi, I am _so_ sorry…”  
  
Nico was already half out of her seat as Kotori urged, “What are you doing!? _Go after her!_ ”  
  
She needn’t yell, Nico was already on the move. Wand in hand, she tapped her legs and whispered a swiftness charm that would _certainly_ have earned her an earful for running in the halls. This close to the full moon, she’d need it.  
  
She barely made it out of the hall before slamming full bodied into the potions teacher, who above all others could best relate to the emergency. He didn’t budge, which made sense given her lack of stature and his own imposing one. He _did_ have an unusually annoyed expression though as he glared down and commented, “I’m _fairly_ certain that there is plenty of time remaining to make it to class without barreling through your teachers, Ms. Yazawa.”  
  
“Professor Lupin!” Nico gulped, remembering that this time of month would be making _his_ temper short as well, “I’m sorry, it’s Maki…”  
  
“Yes,” he interjected, strong-arming control of the conversation, “She _did_ seem _quite_ upset on her way out. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that… would you?”  
  
Merlin’s Ashy Elbow… when it came to Maki she was the absolute _worst_ Slytherin imaginable. Heart _all over_ her sleeve. May as well be a Hufflepuff… or a freaking _Gryffindor._ Nico sighed, “I just need to talk to her.”  
  
“I’ve come to know Ms. Nishikino fairly well during her stay at Hogwarts,” Professor Lupin said, taking the time to adjust his glasses and brush his remaining hair back in a clear attempt at steeling his patience, “... and I can tell that she isn’t seeking company at the moment. _You_ however, should come by my office promptly after your final class of the day. For detention.”  
  
“What for!?” Nico balked, stepping back and thoroughly frustrated at the exchange.  
  
“... For nearly knocking me over? Mostly because there’s a few potions I need to hand out and I could use an extra hand… and since you seem so preoccupied with your friend, perhaps you’d like to make yourself useful to her for a change.”  
  
With that he walked away. In the moments that followed, Nico realized that not a single House point had been deducted. Was… that supposed to be a favor? Either way, Maki’s next class would be Charms, so Nico made a beeline to intercept, the redhead’s bag in hand.  


* * *

  
  
She wasn’t at her class, but she _did_ manage to hand off Maki’s bag to that sweet Ravenclaw girl, Hanayo, she always sat near. The trip _barely_ gave her enough time to bolt to her own Applied Transfiguration class. Fortunately, the lesson was a particularly simple one, transfiguring eating implements into one another. A fork, to a spoon, to a straw, to a knife AND fork, and back again. Something she’d mastered _years_ ago out of necessity.  
  
As such, she spent most of the class absent-mindedly twirling her constantly re-shifting flatwear (throwing a spork state in there for the fun of it), earning her full marks, ten points for the House, and fretting non-stop over her moody sweetheart. Fretting… and (though she’d _never_ let Nozomi in on it) _regretting_ .  
  
Foresight, which had never been much of a problem for her, consistently and utterly failed her when it came to that girl. Well beyond any reasonable curiosity, her academic career and even her more highly coveted social standing had taken a dive for this near obsession. Given the reasons for this, she did not regret those losses in the slightest. What place did either have dictating matters of the heart… no matter the sexual identity or arcanogenetic disorder?  
  
She’d casually kept her chin aloft amidst jabs about biting and hairballs, crude as they could be. One moment, however, of her eyes accurately accusing betrayal, and she was all to pieces. This likely set their slow and steady progression back _months_ … worse if she didn’t find her quickly and address this soon.  


* * *

 

  
But she didn’t.  
  
Classes came and went, each a mad dash to and from Maki’s next scheduled class. Each time, suspicion growing on the faces of her classmates. There was no sign of Maki, and as the day wore on, Nico suspected that the girl had sequestered herself in the Ravenclaw’s dorm. She never thought she’d be looking forward to detention, but here she was.  
  
“This is good. You must be generous with the dose,” Professor Lupin instructed, tapping the surprisingly large flask, “There is no danger in an overdose, but even a drop less could be disastrous. I’ve made plenty, so keep on as you have been.”  
  
“Yes professor,” Nico acknowledged, pouring more directly from the cauldron and passing another dose along. Two more passed in silence before she filled the silence once more with the question, “What exactly does this do?”  
  
In an instructional tone, Professor Lupin intoned, “This particular draught serves as both a sedative and a suppressant to the change itself. The shift still happens more often than not, but any avoided event is better than none. My own design… but still in the works.”  
  
“You’re testing on students?” Nico spoke up, earning her a wane smile.  
  
“The only differences between the Ministry approved formula and my own are additive. I wouldn’t provide this unless I were absolutely certain of its effectiveness.”  
  
More time spent in silence separated the explanation from the next question, “... Does it hurt?”  
  
“It does,” he replied simply, “Though, fortunately, most don’t remember the experience well enough to be bothered by that particular aspect.”  
  
Nico moved on auto, relief at having an outlet overpowering her anxiousness. Since the subject seemed open, Nico proceeded, “She never talks about it.”  
  
“Your friend?” Professor Lupin prompted after a pause.  
  
“The change or… the incident.”  
  
“Your friend is young,” he eased, “... and both are considered, rightfully so, to be rather traumatic events. I’ve watched your interactions with some interest. Today notwithstanding… I can see that your persistence has done her some measure of good.”  
  
The stabbing sensation in her chest forced her to pull back from the cauldron. Tear of dumbass probably wouldn’t mix well in a potion like this. She sniffed and tried to respond offhandedly, “Not sure how well _that’s_ holding up, but… thanks, I guess.”  
  
He caught her eyes sternly, demanding attention as he accepted the second to last flask of a set of twelve, “Don’t put too much stock into her moodiness this close to the full moon.”  
  
“This is more my fault than her’s,” Nico grumbled.  
  
“Well then,” the professor wrapped up, standing and accepting the last of the flasks, downing the whole slog in one go, “Blech… Ugh… _Blughooghulu_ … You should do what it takes to make it right.”  
  
Smiling despite herself due to his exaggerated expressions, Nico asked, “And how should I do that?”  
  
He winked, “Accept an extension to your detention and come with me to the dungeons.”  
  
“The dungeons?”  
  


* * *

 

  
The dungeons. Not all that far from the Slytherin dorm entrance really. A line of cells that looked exactly on theme for their location. Well lit, but damp from the lake above and entirely unadorned stone.  
  
“She spends one night a month down _here?_ ” Nico boggled.  
  
“We all do, and it’s actually two to four nights. The allowance for permitting known werewolves amidst the students of Hogwarts… and, if I’m being honest, a completely fair precaution, given common knowledge.”  
  
Nico eyed the professor carefully, hugging the flask carrier to her chest. At each door, he would set a flask at the floor slot, knocking to announce its presence and waiting to watch the bottom slot open, a hand reach out to accept, and reply to each thank you with a, “You’re very welcome.” He’d then ask if they needed anything before settling in before moving on.  
  
Honestly, Nico was relieved at the precaution to protect their identities. Knowledge was power, but there was also the concept of fair play… and fair hardly described the situations these eleven students faced.  
  
They reached the seventh door before the professor knocked a little more softly and asked, “May I come in?”  
  
It was thrilling, relieving, and anxiety-inducing all at once to hear her voice giving assent and see that furrowed brow and mane of hair. Maki’s eyes flicked her way only for a moment before locking back on the professor’s and nodding, pulling back into a… remarkably comfortable looking room. This arrangement looked nicer than the dorms!  
  
“Your friend has been concerned, so I thought I’d give you two until I finished my rounds to talk things over. Is that alright?”  
  
Maki stared and nodded, accepting her flask and replying, “Thank you professor.”  
  
“You’re very welcome.”  
  
He gave them the courtesy of a closed door, and Maki clutched her flask with a white-knuckled grip. Nico… didn’t know where to start, so she started with the obvious.  
  
“I’m sorry…”  
  
The girl’s nostrils flared and she started pacing. Nico noticed for the first time that the girl wasn’t wearing her robe, instead wrapped in a long wool skirt and a button up cardigan. Maki unplugged her flask, held a finger aloft and spun it as if to suggest she continue, and set to chugging.  
  
“I… I _know_ I shouldn’t have… but I just thought… I thought that with just a little push…”  
  
Maki’s shrill growl and outraged eyes silenced Nico in an instant. She finished swallowing the contents and made as if to throw the flask at the other girl… and for a moment, Nico really thought she would.  
  
_“A little push!?”_ Maki hiss-whispered, storming over to the bedside table to slam the heavy glass down, “To _what?”_  
  
Maki stalked toward her, the height difference far starker with her unusually straightened posture. All pointing fingers and heated glares, the girl growled, “Did you think I’d lay one on you right there in the great hall!?”  
  
She was pacing, never letting Nico out of her sights as she let her have it, “Do you _know_ what you did? Do you have _any idea?”_  
  
“I think I’m starting to…” Nico murmured.  
  
“I was _really…_ I was starting to really trust you… you know that?” Maki snarled, “Really thought you cared… Do you _know_ what I was thinking down there? When I looked at Nozomi and… _just for a second_ … felt for _her_ what I do for _you!?_ ”  
  
Nico winced, growing pale as the confession she’d waited so long for came in such a hostile voice as Maki continued her dress-down, “I panicked! I... _hated_ it. I felt _guilty_ because I thought _I_ was betraying something important.”  
  
“Were you _really_ so impatient with me that you thought something like _that_ was appropriate?!” Maki cried, pulling at her hair. The scars along her cheeks stark against the flush.  
  
“It wasn’t like that,” Nico tried to backpedal, “It wasn’t because of anything physical…”  
  
“Right. Explain then,” Maki demanded, stomping right up to her. Nose to nose. “If you _weren’t_ looking to get handsy, then _what_ warranted slippin’ something in my drink?”  
  
“Every time I thought you were going to say it… you backed off or changed the subject. I thought if you said it just once… you’d feel a’right accepting…”  
  
“I didn’t _say_ it ‘cause I wanted it t’be _special_ you idiot!” Maki cried, shoving Nico back toward the door. A much harder shove than either of them expected, sending her back several paces which she almost didn’t recover from in time.  
  
Maki’s shoulders drooped, “I’m not some kind of game… y’can’t just… try an’ cheat your way to m’heart like that. ‘Specially if you’ve already gone an’ taken it.”  
  
“Now all you’ve done is gone and broken it,” Maki finished, wiping at her eyes. Then she wiped her eyes some more… and then she covered her face.  
  
Swallowing hard, Nico walked forward. This was… a lot worse than she’d expected. Another plan that got _way_ ahead of her. Plans without planning. She reached up, laying a hand on the girl’s hitching shoulder and asked, “Can I make it right?”  
  
The girl slumped forward, pressing her face into her shoulder and answering, “Y’don’t deserve a second chance… you’re terrible… can… you stay?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Can you stay? Tonight?” Maki managed between hitches.  
  
“Is… that allowed?” Nico asked, shocked at the chance.  
  
“There’s a provision,” Maki answered then sniffed, pulling away, “You make it through the night… an’ I’ll _consider_ thinkin’ of a punishment that could lead t’me givin’ you another chance.”  
  
“I’ll do it,” Nico answered without hesitation.  
  
“You tell… _no one_ what happens in here. Not your friends. Not your own _Mother_ ,” Maki warned, eyes stern.  
  
A knock came at the door. Nico nodded firmly Maki’s way. Maki padded to the door and whispered the password unlocking her side. Professor Lupin didn’t look surprised at Maki’s teary state, but he did seem taken aback by the suggestion.  
  
“You’re certain? You know it will mean a _far_ less comfortable evening,” He warned, watching Nico warily.  
  
“Can she have a cot?” Maki asked, frowning at the floor.  
  
“... I’ll have one delivered. I take it you agree to this?”  
  
“I do,” Nico agreed, eager to latch onto any potential path to resolving this.  
  
“... Then I suppose I should lay down the rules right now.”

 

* * *

  
  
  
At precisely 5:45PM, the house elves would be around to put the Ministry-approved cautionary measures in place. The student in question should report to their bed and don their appropriate nightwear for the impending event. The elves would transfigure a suitable cage-wall separating ⅓ of the room for the student and ⅔ for the guest.  
  
A safety line would be drawn that would activate upon the initiation of the shifting event, propelling the guest away from the cage and would provide a warning thereafter anytime the guest would come within the student’s shifted form’s arm’s reach.  
  
In addition to the appropriate nightwear (which was, in practice, a thick cloak and nothing more to prevent a shifted student choking on torn cloth), chained manacles would be fastened to the student’s wrists and neck. Permitted materials must not include silver, iron, or any other potential, rumored, or suggested werewolf allergens and must conform via automagical measurement within comfortable and humane standards. These articles must be in place within an hour of dusk.  
  
Food would be provided on both sides of the barrier and should, at any time, the guest feel inclined, they must have available a means of exiting the student’s temporary housing without impairing any of the in-place security measures.  
  
“... and I say this as both the on-site administrator for these measures _and_ as your professor that cares _deeply_ for both of your well-beings… Do not take Ms. Nishikino’s altered form lightly,” Professor Lupin warned, “Regardless of your feelings and intents, the wolf will do as it sees fit. It took a lot of work to gain the permission of the Ministry and Board to allow students with the affliction in Hogwarts at all, so I ask that you keep them… and myself… in mind. The success of this overnight visit _will_ be referred to as werewolf rights are considered in the future.”  
  
“Yes professor,” the girls intoned, eyeing one another.  
  
The professor smiled and winked, “Dinner will be delivered shortly. I trust you have much to talk about.”  
  
“Thank you,” Maki nodded, “for everything.”  
  
The nod was returned and the door closed.  
  
They had fifteen minutes before the elves would be by to apply the room changes… and as the door’s closing echoed, both girls found themselves staring at one another without saying anything.  
  
Nico broke the silence first, “So… if I knew you had all this to yourself once a month, I’d’ve done this since the start.”  
  
“It’s not exactly a luxury experience,” Maki replied flatly, “... though the beds _are_ pretty comfortable.”  
  
“Is that an invitation to try it out?” Nico chirped with a wink, skipping around the redhead and trying to bring some levity to the gloomy room. She skipped to Maki’s side and flopped onto the blanket-laden mattress… which honestly didn’t feel any different than the usual ones.  
  
Dryly, Maki approached, “I _am_ still mad at you, you know?”  
  
Nico rolled around and burritoed herself in a comforter, “Yeah, but you wanted me here tonight, right?”  
  
Maki settled onto the mattress herself and admitted, “I’ve thought about it… for a while.”  
  
“Yeah?” Nico grinned, she was talking, so this was good.  
  
Maki took a pillow and dropped it onto Nico’s face before replying, “Of course I did… idiot.”  
  
Nico wriggled her way out of the heavy blanket and looked up at the girl, “This is really kind of a dream scenario. No Nozomi or Kotori. No _anyone_ . Just you an’ me. You always loosen up the most when it’s just us.”  
  
With a hard feral smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, Maki pushed down on Nico’s forehead and growled, “So you want me to be loose around you? Is _that_ it?”  
  
That felt playful, so Nico allowed a laugh as she replied, “That’d be good too, but I _meant_ that you talk more.”  
  
“Sometimes it feels like you’re listening,” Maki shrugged.  
  
“I’m _always_ listening,” Nico smiled, grabbing onto the other girl’s wrist and tugging lightly.  
  
“... Really? You think you _deserve_ kisses after what you did?”  
  
“Only if you wanna give ‘em,” Nico answered… which apparently worked. The redhead shook her head and leaned down, pressing slowly before pulling back to lay on her side, resting her cheek on Nico’s stomach.  
  
“If you ever try to pull anything like that again, I’ll drop you like I _should_ be dropping you now.”  
  
“Why aren’t you?” Nico asked, genuinely curious.  
  
“... I’m furious with you. I want to hit you, hex you, throw you out the window and flush you down the loo,” Maki answered as she walked her fingers up Nico’s arm, “... but I also know you’re a complete idiot. Mad as I am… I get what you were trying to do. I hate it, and I fully intend on making you _pay_ for that.”  
  
“Yeah, this sounds about right,” Nico laughed, wincing as Maki poked a little deeper into her bicep.  
  
“But… I’d be lonely if I got rid of you completely. I reserve the right to change my mind, but… you opened me up to this kind of thing… so I’m holding you responsible to see it through. For now anyway,” Maki chided, nuzzling her cheek into Nico’s robes.  
  
Nico chanced a hand in her hair and relaxed when she heard the girl’s rumbling approval.  
  
“It hurt so much _because_ I like you… and tonight might be me just trying to get the rest out and chase you off,” Maki continued, curling closer, “I don’t want you thinking this is a reward or anything.”  
  
“You’re not going to chase me off,” Nico assured warmly.  
  
“Don’t be so sure,” Maki warned sleepily.  
  
Before they could get too comfortable, Maki crawled off the smaller girl, brushed her hair in return, and rolled to the bedside, explaining the act away with, “Don’t want to make the elves uncomfortable.”  
  
Sure enough, the air popped and a pair of platters appeared on the end tables. Another pop heralded a small wrinkly elf that Nico _assumed_ was female from the head-scarf, carrying a bundle and an apologetic smile, “Good evening. Would you like to eat before getting dressed?”  
  
Maki shook her head and said, “That’s fine, may as well get this over with. Thanks Beedy. We were… supposed to maybe get a cot for my guest?”  
  
“It’s on it’s way, won’t be long,” Beedy assured, ushering the redhead toward the bed and eyeing Nico cautiously and pointing toward the door, “Beggin’ your pardon, but you’re going to need to go over there.”  
  
“Yeah, not a problem. Sorry,” Nico smiled meekly, claiming a fried potato wedge from what she assumed was Maki’s plate.  
  
Beedy bristled, “Apologizing. Really. Kids these days.” She waited until Nico had nearly reached the door and pointed to the walls, drawing her fingers inward and incidentally weaving thick bars into existence, separating the room as expected.  
  
Maki was already unbuttoning her top, her back turned toward Nico. As she reached the bottom, she quarter turned and glowered, “You mind?”  
  
“Nope,” Nico answered glibly and earning her a deeper scowl.  
  
She turned back and whispered something to Beedy, who _also_ gave Nico the stink eye! _That_ was a first, and it _almost_ distracted her from her first chance to view the other girl’s bared back. The strength in Nico’s legs nearly gave at the sight, more scar than skin. She’d always assumed the deep discolored ridging across her neck was the worst she’d gotten, but _this_ was something else.  
  
She shrugged on the cloak before tending to below the waist and then knelt to make it easier for the elf to secure the manacle sets, making Nico gulp all the harder. The image struck her as something akin to being knighted… which she was certain was not the connotation her partner had in mind. She settled down against the bars and turned, wrapping the oversized may-as-well-be-a-blanket cloak tightly around her and pointed to her dinner platter, “Bring that over here, would you?”  
  
Beedy started over but Maki laid a hand on her shoulder and corrected, “I mean the moron in the corner. You’re good… and thank you.”  
  
“Apologies _and_ thank yous. Well, if you need anything, you just give a whistle,” the elf demurred aflutter before disappearing with another whiff-pop.  
  
“How long are you going to keep calling me names?” Nico pouted as she laid the tray on the ground.  
  
Maki held off on answering until she’d stacked a pile of meat and cheese in the middle of a torn roll. Just before taking a bite, she pointedly counter-asked, “How long are _you_ going to put up with it, and by that, I mean me?”  
  
It wasn’t supposed to be that deep a question… Nico pouted and clamored to her feet to get her own tray, “You’ll be calling me by my name again soon enough.”  
  
“I _do_ tend toward idiot over moron, don’t I?” Maki considered conversationally, dragging her make-shift sandwich through a pile of mashed potatoes before continuing, “Maybe I need to change it up a bit more.”  
  
“Maki…”  
  
“So,” Maki redirected after she swallowed, “We’re locked in now. In a round-about way, you’ve got your wish, regardless of how _awful_ it was of you to seek it as such. What do you want to talk about before I go all snarly?”  
  
Nico stared, having never heard the girl refer to the process so glibly. She barely referred to it at all. Before she could properly consider, she answered, “How’d it happen?”  
  
Maki continued to pound down the impressive spread, taking a moment to drink before answering without looking at her, “You haven’t forgotten how t’keep a secret. Have you?”  
  
“Come off it, I _am_ a Slytherin.”  
  
“No, you’re a Nico Yazawa, and as of this moment my right and proper girlfriend. Now answer the question,” she fired back, redirecting from sandwich to drumstick. She still hadn’t looked up as she continued, “And wipe that stupid grin off your face.”  
  
“Can’t,” Nico preened, “Too happy. I can keep it.”  
  
The redhead turned suddenly, crossing her legs under the cloak and pressing her forehead between the bars, “Cross your heart and mine?”  
  
“Pretty sure I already crossed yours,” Nico snarked and relented as Maki took a particularly large bite of the chicken leg, “But I’ve no intent of doing it again.”  
  
“My parents used t’run a hospital,” Maki began, bringing them up for the first time in their relationship, “Back in Tokyo. I was born there.”  
  
She took a bite and continued, mouth mostly full, “They treated magic folk _and_ Muggles. Separate, obviously”  
  
“Obviously.”  
  
“They had a patient that had contracted lycanthropy before coming into the country but hadn’t realized it yet. They showed up with symptoms, but then changed in the ER.”  
  
Nico remained silent for once as Maki distanced herself from the memory with mashed potatoes, “I was there with a friend. She was going to be spending the night and we were on our way out for the evening when he shifted. Obviously, he went berserk. She screamed, got his attention, and I got between them.”  
  
Nico handed Maki her drink when she stalled. After a sip she continued, “Fortunately, the best place to be after a proper mauling _is_ a hospital, so… best case scenario, I suppose.”  
  
Nico’s arm passed the bars and pulled the blank-faced redhead closer. She wrapped up, “Needless to say, the whole lot had to be obliviated. Papa got a bit of it himself. I imagine he’s locked up back home as well. The hospital exchanged hands and we moved to London in short order. Been here ever since.”  
  
“Did your friend make it alright?” Nico asked, earning her a smile.  
  
“Yeah. Hard t’be sad about a lost friend she couldn’t remember, but she had loads so I’m sure she got on just fine. Muggles. Social lot, they are.”  
  
“... I looked.”  
  
“I know,” Maki smirked, papping her on the nose with her roll before leaning forward to scoop more potato on it, “Somethin’ else, isn’ it? S’why I always beat your hands back.”  
  
“Does this mean you’ll stop?” Nico winked.  
  
“You _really_ need t’remember you’re on probation,” Maki laughed, smudging potato onto Nico’s cheek, “... an’ probably by reflex for a bit. You took it better’n I thought you would.”  
  
“I’m mostly curious,” Nico admitted, “You know, how it’d feel, how sensitive they are, stuff like that.”  
  
“... with good behavior, you may just find out,” Maki assured with a strange pride, “... I _am_ glad you’re here…”  
  
“Me too,” Nico assured, snuggling in and pulling her own tray onto her lap.  
  
From there, they ate in companionable silence. The bars were currently rather thin. Widely spread enough to allow ease of passage for the somewhat bulky manacles linking Maki to the opposing wall. Maki silently stole Nico’s carrots as Nico dunked her rolls into Maki’s gravy after she’d used all of her own.  
  
“I left your bag with Hanayo,” Nico confided once she’d had her fill, claiming an arm to press her cheek into.  
  
“She got it to me,” Maki answered, pulling Nico’s plate over to her’s and scraping it clean, “Thanks for that… and for the seconds.”  
  
“I have _no_ idea where you put it all,” Nico teased lazily. All thoughts of parchment inches and required reading falling to the wayside in post-dinner snuggling bliss.  
  
“All the benefit of being a magical creature, I s’pose,” Maki said between bites, “You know, if it gets bad t’night… you can leave. I wouldn’t hold it against you.”  
  
“What you’re saying now doesn’t match what you said earlier,” Nico smiled.  
  
“I’m not as mad now. Full stomach.”  
  
“And snuggles~” Nico teased.  
  
Maki pulled Nico’s hand up and faux bit her finger with a wink, quickly replacing teeth with lips and laughing as Nico gasped.  
  
“You _never_ joke about that!”  
  
“We’re never alone after I eat your weight in potatoes,” Maki winked, “... kind of a shame ‘bout these bars.”  
  
“... There’s… a good bit o’ room there t’work with,” Nico chanced, “D’pending on what you’re thinking.”  
  
“My head, your lap,” Maki deadpanned, “You are _such_ a boy.”  
  
To which, Nico gasped, “Ex- _cuse_ me!?”  
  
Nico pulled away, shimmied out of her robes and slid her legs through the bars, hugging them to stay close, “ _There_ . Legs. Definitely _not_ boy legs either.”  
  
Maki eyed the offering and shrugged, repositioning carefully to keep the cloak in place as she laid back, “That they plainly are not. Congratulations Ms. Yazawa, you’re a girl.”  
  
“See!?” Nico gestured wildly, “This. This here. This is why I like getting you alone. You turn into a snarky arse. I’m pretty sure you’ve said more to me this evening than you have in the past _month.”_ _  
_ _  
_ With closed eyes and a contented smile, Maki replied, “Whose fault is that?  You don’t often seem t’have _talking_ on your mind when we catch a moment. These bars might be a good idea.”  
  
“... I’m not overdoing it, am I?”  
  
“You’re a lil’ self-indulgent. Bad at listening. Points for enthusiasm though. Like I said, _such_ a boy… that happens to have lady legs.”  
  
“Ugh!” Nico squawked, but was shushed with a finger to her lips.  
  
“... But I want t’keep you. So quit bein’ a boy… and start bein’ my partner. Assumin’ you survive the night, I’d imagine, if you play your cards right, we’d have a very different couple o’ hours before m’next change.”  
  
“You start slurring a lot more when you’re sleepy,” Nico commented affectionately.  
  
“I had a long day… Thanks to someone.”  
  
“I’ll do better,” Nico assured.  
  
“Y’sure couldn’t do much worse,” Maki smirked before rolling over and nuzzling into Nico’s thigh as she’d done earlier with her stomach.  
  
Nico contented herself by keeping her hands busy with the girl’s hair. Though she’d _never_ draw the comparison out loud, the girl seemed to like nothing more than a good scratch. The redhead was dozing long before Nico felt herself start to drift. A fine end to a tumultuous day.

 

* * *

 

With no small amount of surprise, Nico stirred awake staring at a _very_ unfamiliar ceiling. Greenish stone. There was a weight on her legs that grumbled and stirred, bringing the past several hours back into focus. She sat up carefully and found Maki frowning and mumbling as she scratched at the bars near her face.  
  
Adorable at first, but alarming the next. The girl moaned and Nico noticed just how pale she had become. She eyed the caution line behind her warily, but leaned forward instead, hands seeking cheeks and hushed assurances of, “Hey… it’s okay… It’s okay, Maki. I’m right here.”  
  
The other girl stirred and, after a moment, wiped her mouth self consciously, “... So you are.”  
  
“You want to move to the bed?”  
  
“Not really,” Maki insisted, “You want to move your cot to the bars? I could scoot the bed over… probably.”  
  
“We can do that?”  
  
“We can.”  
  
“What if you…,” Nico began, “You know…”  
  
“We’re in a completely submerged space with no windows with soundproofing enchants built into the walls,” Maki answered as she shook her head with a smile, “God, you’re dense. Don’t you even read your textbooks?”  
  
Nico frowned, “Hey!”  
  
Maki lifted herself shakily up to the bars and pulled Nico in by the shoulders. She slid one hand loose and pointed to the ceiling, “No moon. No change. All the rest is just superstition… and even those are addressed down here.”  
  
The color left Nico’s face, “But… if that’s… then why all the…?”  
  
“The Ministry’s full of old superstitious people,” Maki smiled and ruffled Nico’s hair affectionately, her chains clinking awkwardly against her cheek, “Now go move your bed. The Wolfsbane is working, but I’m _still_ wiped out.”  
  
Breathing a sigh of relief, Nico pulled away and started on just that, commenting as she yanked, “If you knew… you weren’t gonna change… then why all the drama with the… _tell no one, even your mother_ , stuff?”  
  
Maki struggled with her own, much larger bed, barely budging it as she struggled to find a decent foothold, “I was mad at you. Trying to see if you’d do it regardless.”  
  
“That’s… fair….”  
  
“Also, I had no idea if whatever you slipped me would have an effect on the wolfsbane. Looks like I lucked out.”  
  
_“I’m_ the lucky one,” Nico boasted, dusting off her skirt and hopping onto the cot that… was _still_ pretty nice.  
  
Maki had looped the chain around the bed’s leg and grunted as she pulled, “Yes you are…”  
  
“How lucky am I getting tonight, then?” Nico teased, laying back and kicking off her socks.  
  
“... Not _that_ lucky. Tonight,” Maki answered, finally making headway toward what would be a comfortable, somewhat playful late night.

  
  


* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

 

Did this feel like a cop out ending? I could have probably gone on for another couple thousand words, but I’ve got a comic update to work on and this is already _ridiculously_ longer than it probably should be. I’ve been daydreaming about this one for ages. I was originally going to have Maki go through a change down there, but that just wouldn’t work in their canon universe mechanically. Either way, I’m pretty stoked to finally get a chance to write _some_ of it out.  
  
For people who think that Maki let Nico off too easily for the short-burst love potion, you're not wrong. Magic society hasn't really caught up to our muggle sensibilities regarding things like consent. Savages. That aside, Maki is  _very_ fond of Nico and it would take something pretty blatantly vindictive for her to consider parting at this stage in their relationship and Maki's personal emotional state and development. It's not that Nico's  _really_ an idiot... she just gets swept up in ideas.

 

Thanks for reading <3  


	7. Famous

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 7 - Famous**

* * *

“This is some kind of joke, right?” Maki groaned as her security lead, Mayuri Tojo led her down the hall, thin chains rounding her hips jangling with each step, “We  _ really _ couldn’t find  _ any _ other accommodations?”   
  
“None that we can verify security for,” the stoic woman explained simply, “The demonstrations that follow you tend to be… enthusiastic on both ends.”   
  
Maki relaxed, whipping out her phone and sighed, “I put you through a lot.”   
  
“That you do, Ma’am.”   
  
“One last one before dropping me off?” Maki asked, wagging her phone with a grin as the broad  purple-haired woman stopped and glared from above her shades.   
  
_ “One.” _   
  
“Hee hee~” Maki chirped, bounding to her side and looping an arm around her shoulders. She held the phone at length, arranged the shot, steadied her happy enthusiasm and traded it for serious confident sultry before tapping the capture.   
  
“Don’t tag me on this one,” Mayuri drolled, turning away and flicking her client’s ear, “You’re giving my mother the wrong idea.”   
  
“Uh huh,” Maki teased as she ran the shot through a gamut of color, gamma, and filter corrections, “I bet. Can’t have both daughters running off with ladies, can she?”   
  
“... Now, this has nothing to do with that, but you’re going to be sharing a room tonight,” Mayuri continued matter-of-factly.   
  
“ _ That  _ doesn’t sound very secure,” Maki pouted, still focusing on the correct captioning and tagging, “It sounds like you don’t mean yourself.”   
  
“No, Ma’am. I’ll be trading off with Sana in a few hours, but if you need me I’ll be just down the hall.”   
  
“I don’t deserve you,” Maki sighed, “Is the area  _ really _ that packed? That’s exciting.”   
  
“This tour is a big deal,” Mayuri replied, finally smiling, “You’ve started something really good, here.”   
  
“Don’t say it like that,” Maki flailed, tapping send and covering her face, “I’m just a part of it. Everyone else did  _ way _ more heavy lifting.”   
  
Mayuri stopped by room -348. A third sub-basement floor that had required no less than four security checks to verify identity, belongings, and staffing. The wifi was shockingly good, given the occupancy of the complex and the durability of its structure. A light knock preceded Maki’s whispered, “Do we know who it is at least?”   
  
A question that only left Maki  _ more  _ confused as Mayuri only smirked and handed off the room card key, walking back down the hall with a backward wave. Mayuri  _ never _ left her alone… and for just a moment, Maki felt a chill of anxiousness.   
  
But then the sound of multiple locks being fiddled with behind the door drew her attention. Each unhinging faster than the last until the door swung open, revealing one ecstatic five-foot-even bundle of radiance.   
  
“Maki!”   
  
Anxiety was banished forever as the redhead’s eyes widened, her smile exploded, and she semi-squealed, “Hoooooly crap,  _ Nico!?” _   
  
“Get in here!” Nico ushered, looking down both ends of the hall, “Room service is on the way and I have been  _ dying _ for this!”   
  
Maki swept the shorter girl up in a spinning embrace, kicking the door closed behind her and taking care not to smack the girl’s ankles against the wall. Nico, who seemed shocked at the contact at first quickly fell into laughter of her own, returning the hug with ferocity.   
  
“I can’t believe this! I thought you couldn’t make it!” Maki gushed, setting the woman down and flopping back onto the bed to wrestle with the straps of her shoes.   
  
“No one  _ else _ knows either,” Nico confided, “They won’t until tomorrow.”   
  
“Oh  _ man _ , you’re going to have a hell of a flight to catch…”   
  
“Assuming they don’t cancel my show after tomorrow,” Nico grinned, leaning back against the dresser.   
  
Maki stopped mid-way through kicking off her left shoe and stared. The beans counted and the gears clicked as she slowly drew in the slowest gasp of her life, “You’re…”   
  
“I’m doin’ it, babe,” Nico nodded resolutely, “I’m comin’ out. Tomorrow. On stage. With you, if you’ll have me.”   
  
“You want to change up my act at the biggest pride event the world has ever seen, to include the coming out of my best long-distance friend slash international music sensation in our first ever public appearance together?” Maki slow-geeked out, “ _ Shyeah, _ I think I can fit you in…  _ I can’t believe you’re actually here! _ ”   
  
“I think you missed a part of that, sweet-heart,” Nico teased, leaning back and raking her fingers through her hair, unbound and flaring across the shoulders of her worn Kousaka tour date T-shirt.   
  
Maki stared at the point in front of her nose, frowned, frowned  _ deeper _ and then said, “Sorry, too much at once. What’d I miss?”   
  
Nico laughed and bit her lip, looking to the door and admitting, “Alright… so… that may have been a little vague. One way or another, assuming you’ll give me the stage time, I  _ am _ coming out… but…”   
  
Nico trailed off, Maki felt something monumental was on the other side of whatever connection she wasn’t making. She hunched over, hands on forehead and torn between staring at the floor and her incredibly talented superstar friend/secret cru-...    
  
No.   
  
Way.   
  
“ _ Oh my god, you useless lesbian, _ ” Nico laughed, doubling over and barely able to look up, “I can’t believe I was so  _ nervous _ about this!”   
  
“You…”   
  
“ _ If you’ll have me,  _ you dork!” Nico grinned, straightening up, “Power lady couple. NicoMaki. I’m not talking a for-show business arrangement either. I’ve been hanging on your every word for  _ years  _ now. I want to do this. I want to make  _ this _ ,” she gestured, pointing between the two, “... happen.”   
  
Maki blinked. She leaned back. She smiled and reached for her phone. She snapped a picture of Nico and tossed it to the other bed. She stared and shook her head with a grin that was wide enough that her cheeks hurt, “I… y-…  _ Yes! _ Oh my god yes!”   
  
Nico fell back against the dresser again as Maki leaned back and kicked her feet in the air, incidentally sending her remaining shoe flying as she all but cackled. She brushed her hair back again and laughed, “You are  _ such _ a dork in person. I love it!”   
  
Maki slammed her feet onto the floor and leaned forward, grinning ear to ear, “You are  _ crazy _ short. Like, I  _ knew _ you were tiny, but  _ God. _ You’re too cute for  _ words.” _   
  
“Nice save,” Nico smiled, “So, do we want to talk about how we’re gonna do this tomorrow?”   
  
“I’m more interested in  _ right now _ , unless you’re going to save our first kiss for the stage,” Maki suggested, resting her chin in her palm, “... which I’m sure the fans’ll love, but… I’m inclined to be selfish.”   
  
“Patience~ I never go down on an empty stomach,” Nico teased, crossing the distance to sit beside the taller woman, resting her hand over her’s, “... I think. Probably. I’m pretty new to this.”   
  
“Food  _ would  _ be good,” Maki mused, locking her fingers with Nico’s, “... and… I just can’t believe you’re really here.”   
  
Nico looked down at the linked hands and swallowed. The smile remained, but she seemed to have a better handle on her excitement now, “I’m making a big leap here… and I think you’re worth it. You’ve… helped a lot of people close to me. You’ve helped  _ me. _ A lot. Particularly over the last year.”   
  
Nico met Maki’s eyes to finish, “You helped them find comfort in hard times… and you forced  _ me _ to face something  _ genuinely _ terrifying. I thought… this would be a lot harder.”   
  
“The hard part’s what comes next,” Maki leaned in, resting her head against Nico’s, “In here, it’s just us. We’ve been talking for years. Bouncing ideas off one another. Echoing one another. This is all…  _ really _ surprising, but I’m so happy right now that nothing else matters.”   
  
“... but next comes the ‘betrayed fans’, the unhappy parents, the protests, the threats and the few that actually try to follow through,” Maki continued, shifting her far hand to replace her near so it, in turn, could find Nico’s shoulder, “I… think I want this more than I could have imagined… but it’s not going to be easy.”   
  
Nico stared ahead, so Maki continued, “I’ll be with you  _ every _ step of the way.”   
  
Nico lifted her other hand, pinky out, “I’ll count on you.”   
  
Maki shifted to link her’s in kind, “I hope whatever you ordered doesn’t give us bad breath, because I want to kiss the  _ mess _ out of you.”   
  
Nico laughed and pulled away, shoving the other woman and protesting, “It’d have to be pretty bad to dissuade  _ this _ girl.”   
  
  


* * *

  
**Twitter "Gal Pals" Become International Power Couple**   
  
One-woman alternative music sensation Maki Nishikino and J-Pop international superstar Nico Yazawa, who made a big splash on the international stage during her concert series protesting last year’s Summer Olympic games, came together at Belgium’s ‘Proud Voices Love Loud’ event in a move that has  _ everybody _ talking.   
  
What began as a surprise guest announcement, quickly took the world, and particularly the internet, by storm as the two not only announced their relationship, but spent the first  _ three minutes  _ of Nishikino’s time slot  _ proving it _ to the audience, placing the event on  _ numerous _ ban lists in countries around the world.   
  
The relationship, long suggested through their frequent high-profile Twitter conversations, apparently only went official the night before. The couple people are calling NicoMaki, joke as you will as to who’s the top, brings the most outspoken voice for overturning antiquated unbalanced power structures in the East and one of the most family-friendly, uncompromisingly positive voices for LGBT rights in the West together in what should be… a wild ride to watch.    
  


* * *

  
**Whirlwind NicoMaki Tour Breaks the Internet**   
  
Announced briefly after the pair declared their relationship, and Yazawa’s preferences, to the world, the couple embarked on a musical tour-de-force across Europe, Africa, the United States, Canada, Central and South America, and finally back in Yazawa’s native Japan.   
  
As to be expected, where either of these two travel, protests and rallies were sure to follow. What  _ wasn’t  _ expected was the sheer volume of turn-out of the LGBT community, which dwarfed the usual protesting tag-alongs, leading to not only record sales but an unparalleled economic surge at every single city the act stopped in.   
  
What followed was invitations from cities that held long bans on Ms. Nishikino’s concerts, known to heavily promote pro-LGBT messages, opening their doors at the promise of a much needed boost to their local economies.   
  
What followed was the most bizarre collection of politically focused ‘meme-bombing’ from both sides of the issue the world has yet witnessed. Names normally unmentioned in local governments became internationally celebrated or reviled as their actions specifically regarding this concert tour would draw the internet’s spotlight.   
  
When asked for comment, Ms. Nishikino declined, but Ms. Yazawa had the following to share.   
  
_ “Governments are made to serve the will of the people. If their actions can’t withstand the people’s scrutiny, they’re doing it wrong. What we’re seeing now is the very least of what they should expect.” _   
  
As the tour draws to a close, neither seem willing to reveal what they plan next.   
  


* * *

  
  
Nico slumped into the hotel room, letting the door shut itself behind her as she relied heavily on the entranceway hall. For once, the sun was still up. Maki was curled up in the desk chair by the window. A high view atop Tokyo framing her form, wrapped in one towel and drying her hair with another. Apparently she’d just finished painting her toenails too as they were still separated by cotton swab.   
  
“Hey Button,” Maki reaching over to click off a video before turning to greet her weary partner, “You want to wash up?”   
  
“Mmbl-daaaaagh,” Nico answered eloquently, flopping face-down onto the bed.   
  
“... I see,” Maki answered lightly as she towel-wrapped her hair, standing up on the chair and stepping over it’s arm onto the bed, “The conference or the venue?”   
  
Nico flopped onto her back and clenched her eyes shut, spread eagling as she replied, “Blaaaaaaaaaaaah.”   
  
Maki crouched down at her side, “You sound like you need a break.”   
  
Nico stuck her tongue out and raspberried long and loud.   
  
Maki mimicked this, close-mouthed, on Nico’s stomach, just barely peeking out.   
  
“WAAAAA! HAHA! STOP! Oh god! Whaga!”   
  
Maki sat back, grinning and draping her legs over the still flailing woman, “ _ I’ve _ got a new song I’m working on.”   
  
“This is news, how?” Nico smile/sighed, after finally composing herself, “You’re  _ always _ working on a new song.”   
  
“This makes enough for an album,” Maki clarified, “It’s a duet.”   
  
That got Nico’s attention, “Really?”   
  
“Cheesy love ballad. Domestic bliss. Total shift in tone from the rest.”   
  
“Happy ending?” Nico grinned.   
  
“Uh huh. The happiest,” Maki replied, scooting closer until she was pressed to her side, “You up for it?”   
  
“Our label’s’ll have to talk, but sh’yeah,” Nico agreed, “If they don’t like it, maybe we should start our own?”   
  
Maki pouted, “Sounds like a lot of work… and you’re  _ already _ worn out.”   
  
“Pfft. I got plenty left in the tank.”   
  
“Marathon. I need you running with me long-term.”   
  
Nico shifted up onto her elbows, “Then I want a vacation. Just a week. No work, ocean breeze, maybe a private beach.”   
  
Maki stuck out her tongue, “Sand gets everywhere. Plus, I’m surprised  _ you’d  _ suggest a private beach, given that most of them are on stolen land.”   
  
“Artificial? They have those around here,” Nico offered.   
  
“Hey, I’ll go wherever you want. Just us?”   
  
“Just us,” Nico nodded, “We’ve been going so hard… I want to give  _ this _ a chance to grow. See you off the stage  _ and _ out of a hotel room.”   
  
_ “So _ many hotel rooms… maybe after, we coul-”   
  
Nico interrupted, “No after-talk. No plans. No thinking about work. Starting now?”   
  
Maki frowned into her palm, “I really want to get this song ironed out while it’s fresh.”   
  
“After that, then,” Nico acquiesced sensibly. One doesn’t snub one’s muses.   
  
Maki leaned forward, the towel on her head coming undone, “After that… I’m all yours.”   
  
Nico grabbed the towel and pulled her down. That was just what she wanted to hear.

  
  


* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

 

Definitely a short one this time. Not a rise to fame story… and only barely a ‘what they do once they have it’. Less about the theme itself, I went with a few scenes of these two  _ enjoying _ that status. It’d be a much better execution if I had the time to draw it out more, but this is where they wanted to take it.    
  
… Now to figure out how to interpret a Kwami Swap in Love Live. I’ve only ever seen the first episode of Miraculous Ladybug and that was an age ago. Had to look up what the heck a Kwami was. I’m sure I’ll figure something out.


	8. Paradigm Shift

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 8 - Paradigm Shift**

  
(Originally supposed to be Kwami Swap, which would amount to the swapping of superpowers. In this case, Maki would get all the idol love and Nico would get all the musicy music. What followed was a complete re-imagining that pulls heavily from Revolutionary Girl Utena, Ouran High School, and just a touch of Kill La Kill because larger than life. The first part is a foreword to the main story and integral to understanding what the heck follows.)

* * *

 

 

Otonokizaka is, in all actuality, a magical place.  
  
Sure, that’s a sentiment reflected on _every_ school’s promotional material… but that’s usually just fluff. Change your life. Put it on the right path. Prepare yourself for the future and build friendships that will last a lifetime.  
  
To the outward eye, it carries a proud tradition of _not having_ tradition. Each year, bringing a new dynamic focus to the school. It’s students proving to have an unrivaled drive, coming together each year to claim the national spotlight for _some_ reason.  
  
Two years ago, three young women guided the school by hand into a new world. The Three Princes, as they had come to be called, formed a takarazuka troupe that would draw audiences from around the country.  
  
In order of popularity, Yazawa Nico, The Heaven’s Melody, the musical genius behind the group’s exploits. Distinguished and refined. Sharp lines, youthful energy, combining and elevating the butler _and_ shota tropes into a _relentlessly_ charming, if aloof, allure.  
  
Tojo Nozomi, The Miraculous Transformation. Master of binding, of voice modulation, and drawing every man, woman, and teen’s innermost bara-devotee’s adoration with her husky confidence and abundant physical familiarity.  
  
Ayase Eli, _The Divine_ . So sublime in her androgynous fluid transitioning between distinguished feminine beauty and impossible seductive masculinity that her true physical form is a mystery that plagues and torments the dreams of her fan base. A delectable anguish, made only unbearable with how her eyes seem to answer your heart’s innermost desires without saying a word.  
  
This triumphant triumvirate, upon entering the high-school world, catapulted the already lauded Otonokizaka into a golden age, bringing it into the international spotlight with productions including Guys and Guys, Only You, and I Can’t Believe My Beautiful Boyfriend Fell Into a Fantasy World.  
  
The takarazuka troupe, normally referred to as Suspension (short for Glorious Suspension Between Heaven and Earth), was expansive, and the students who have since graduated from Otonoki who could put their participation on their resume quickly found acceptance into the colleges and even directly into the production groups of their dreams.  
  
_However,_ as was the nature of the national treasure Otonokizaka, what would come the _next_ year, would snare the imaginations of the young and the old in ways that Suspension never could.  
  
Once in a generation, a prodigy would appear, with an innate capacity for uncomparable growth in the martial or athletic skill. Many practices could lay claim to these shining examples that would best represent the dedication and skill required to be legend among their number. A golden fist. A lightning eye. The variations on the theme are endless…  
  
What arose in Otonokizaka’s following year, was akin to a new evolution in the very concept of what could define the word, ‘prodigy.’ For even that was insufficient to describe the effervescent capacity of not one… but _three_ young women. Three shining stars that descended upon the earth upon the school’s holy grounds.  
  
Unassuming and kind, the most deceptive talent, Minami Kotori, The Fluttering Hand. The very suggestion of her joining any of the various team sports filled local rivals with terror. Just by having her name in the reserves roster, despite her never even attending a game, was enough to break wills and fill the nights preceding with cold sweat and nightmares. Her once-a-week exhibition ‘to keep in shape’ displayed a supernatural command of herself and the ball would frequently pit her against professional teams from around the globe.  
  
Fortunately for their rivals, her _real_ passion was fashion. Her command of the ball translated perplexingly to the needle. Kotori’s schedule was packed with crafting the most refined garments for the handsome-faced members of Suspension.  
  
Sonoda Umi, The Hand of God, was an inexplicable force of nature in the judo, kenpo, aikido, tai chi, and archery worlds. Since making her public debut at Otonokizaka, her family’s dojo had renovated expansions four times, each following a public competition which would not stop at the usually intended school competitions, but would extend as masters the world around sought a moment on the floor with her, hoping to glean a hint of her divine inspiration.  
  
Graceful. Cunning. Precise as glass and twice as sharp. Serenely, she would weave, shoot, and throw her way to beautiful victory… but even The Hand of God had a rival that could give her pause. Her best friend and, if you believed the rumors, greatest love, Kousaka Honoka.  
  
She had earned many names since the start of her attendance at Otonokizaka. The Fist of the Heavens. The Wrath of Hell. Demon. The Smiling Death. The Nirvana. None truly captured the raw destructive capacity of this unassuming perpetually enthusiastic and mostly happy daughter of a traditional candy-maker. In her debut year, she breezed through the kendo circuit with such unfailingly-cheerful ease that she made eternal frienemies of the lot. No one could stand to harbor hostility in the face of her positivity.  
  
These three girls single-handedly elevated Otonokizaka’s already lofty standing in yet another avenue… separate but equal to Suspension.  
  
But… this was a new year.  
  
With hostile eyes of the third years, and gentle welcoming enthusiasm of the second, a new class was just beginning. Expectations were high, but the true nature of the school and the titanic subterranean secret it hides left the few in the know anxious to see just what shakeup was around the corner.

* * *

  
**Love Your Live: Advance L4R!** **  
** **The Third Year**

 

 **Episode One: Deep Love Secret! You’re Really Really** ** _Really_** **Cute!**  
  
  
  
Maki rounded the corner, dance-walking to the confusion of many and wearing a pair of heavily  bedazzled cat-ear headphones. A new school ( _All girls, baby!)_ , a new uniform ( _Cherri Cherri maybe~)_ , and a new single from Cherri Ah! La Mode ( _I’m tellin’ you_ ** _it must be love~_** _)_ _all_ in one morning! Things _couldn’t_ be better!  
  
It was a little hard not to just close her eyes and give into the beat. The song was in her veins and she’d spent so much extra time on her nails and makeup this morning that she just _knew_ she was killin’ it! Just passing through the gate felt _electric_ and before she knew it, she was pirouetting and jamming her way through the halls, flashing smiles at all the new _so cute_ faces all around her.  
  
All-girl schools really _were_ the best. Tall black socks. Bared knees. Puffy bows over decadently formal blazers. Glossy nails and shiny lips. Colorful skirts hinting at _lovely_ hips. She had found it. A paradise… which _might_ be getting over-exaggerated by just how much she was _loving_ this song! She wanted to see the PV _so bad_. Cherri would _doubtlessly_ be _so flirty_ that Maki very well may just die right there.  
  
She spun around, bliss clear on her face, and got a little too loose as she hip-bumped a passing second year with orange hair, a side-tail, and a super-cute smile. She tapped her bracelet (bluetooth volume control) and winked in ‘apology’, tossing out a playful, “Sorry, sorry senpai~ Please take good care of me~” much to the _hilarious_ outrage of the stern _gorgeous_ bluenette at her side. The bump-ee seemed pretty amused though. _So cute._  
  
Fortunately, her gall would go unpunished as she spun into her classroom and jammed to the closest third-row-back seat she could find, two lanes in. Another wrist tap set her headset to collapse-mode, shrinking and straightening the band while internalizing the noise cancellation earmuffs. With practiced ease she dropped it and her wrist set both into her satchel, traded it for digital notepad and stylus, and popped out the system’s native earbuds, slipping only the left one in.  
  
She _almost_ set to searching for Cherri’s video but she’d need some _real_ privacy for that. Plus it was her first day! Instead, she queued up her ‘Best Life BGM’ list filled with karaoke versions of her faves and looked around for someone to chat up.  
  
Just as she was about to pop in on the growing social cluster by the windows, she overheard the girl behind her sighing, “Rin-chan, I just don’t think you understand the charm of MiRei.”  
  
MiRei. Ship name of Min Hua Lin and Rachel Song (Stage Name: Rei Haiyaou). Also frequently referred to as Mirage, their group name. Lots of light and dark, tall and smol, thirsty and playful… contrasting complementaries. Maki turned with interest so plain on her face that one could just _imagine_ the perked cat ears.  
  
“Did you say MiRei?” Maki interjected, surprising both of the girls.  
  
Short, soft, and sweet adjusted her glasses and nodded, “You know them?”  
  
“I… _love_ them,” Maki applied with force, “Together _and_ as a group. I stan them _hard._ ”  
  
The girl’s glasses gleamed over, obscuring her bright eyes as her headset started playing, of all things, Decisive Battle from her father’s Neon Genesis Evangelion collection. She _really_ needed to clear his data from her folders, but it really suited the moment. The cute girl steepled her fingers and leaned forward. Her sweet voice offered, “HanTou?”  
  
“Love it,” Maki replied resolutely, _feeling_ the tides of destiny tug at her heart.  
  
“Rokutop or AsamiB?”  
  
“Asami-Na-B OT3,” Maki shot back.  
  
“A respectable rarepair,” the girl nodded impressed, “Thoughts on A-RISE?”  
  
“Same as school idols in general,” Maki answered, looking to both sides before leaning in to quietly add, “I have deep concerns about how they will affect the professional landscape. The current moe arms race and its incessant infantilization of femininity is racing toward an unpleasant final form… _however_ … this sentiment, and my personal take on it _as_ an underage fan and seeing my peers in such a light is best expressed by the great Jane Lynch…”  
  
Maki began and was immediately excited as she was echoed by the other girl in saying, ““Can I just say that as a feminist, I am appalled by these images... and as a lesbian, I am _delighted!_ ”  
  
“Koizumi Hanayo,” Hanayo reached out.  
  
“Nishikino Maki,” Maki accepted, shaking the girl’s _oh so soft_ hand.  
  
The super-petite, super-cute redhead at her side was staring in horror. Hanayo gestured to her right and introduced, “This is my long-time best friend and love of my life, Hoshizora Rin. She is but a humble initiate that I’ve been trying to drag into my degeneracy.”  
  
“Nothing degenerate about it,” Maki assured with an excited grin, “Pleased to meet you both. I _knew_ Cherri wouldn’t lie about today.”  
  
“Wasn’t it great!?” Hanayo answered, slapping at Maki’s hands excitedly, “I can’t get it out of my head!!”  
  
“Nyai’m doomed…” Rin moaned, sliding onto Hanayo’s desk in defeat.  


* * *

  
  
_“As you will come to learn, Otonokizaka has many secrets,”_ their homeroom teacher alluded, _“But the real secret came with each and every one of you. Inside of your hearts and minds beats incalculable potential. It is the purpose of this school to help you reach deep and find this inner gift._ **_Your_ ** _passion._ **_Your_ ** _interests. The things that are most important to_ **_you._ ** _Otonokizaka is not a renowned academy because of these walls or the faculty. It is you… the shining stars of your own stories. You are what has, and will, elevate the Otonokizaka name… but only as a side-product of the development of your_ **_selves.”_ **  
  
Maki practically _vibrated_ with excitement. It’s like her best case scenario kept trying to one-up itself.  
  
_“You may be aware of the previous classes sterling achievements. You should pay them no mind. You may be scouted by their respective clubs, and if you feel it is your calling to follow, then by all means you should do so.”_  
  
Two new _super cute_ lesbian friends who were _already_ together. Her overflowing honesty in regards to their obvious adorable compatibility meant there’d be zero awkwardness of her being seen as an encroaching presence.  
  
_“Above that… this begins_ **_your_ ** _story. If you feel that it leads down a path not already existing at Otonokizaka, we encourage you to pursue it!”_ _  
_  
But this… _this…_ if what this woman was suggesting was for real…  
  
_“With that, I will leave you to think it over. This is a lot to take in, and I know this is very far from the normal high school experiences your former peers may be having. Just know that by pursuing your path… we hope to guide you into becoming_ **_peerless._ ** _The very height of what you, yourself, can dream.”_ _  
_ _  
_ The homeroom teacher walked out of the room, immediately ushering in a torrent of whispers and conversations that Maki ignored. Immediately, she turned to the right. Hanayo was already turning her way.  
  
“Let’s do it,” Maki suggested, full of excited motivation.  
  
“Even if it’s just the three of us to start,” Hanayo nodded.  
  
“What are we doing?” Rin asked, looking pinned between the two, despite sitting off to the side.  
  
Both girls answered in sparkly-eyed unison, “ _School Idols!”_  


* * *

  
  
Lunch on the lawn. Quintessential high school experience. Maki sat a respectful distance from her two new friends, meaning she was only barely in physical contact with the easy-to-fluster adoribomb that Rin was turning out to be.  
  
It was Rin who interrupted her and Hanayo’s overflowing excitement at the prospect of taking the stage themselves with a hard dose of reality.  
  
Logistics.  
  
“Nyai’m just sayin’. Idols need outfits and songs to sing. Did you even _think_ about where that’s going to come from, nya?”  
  
Maki leaned in, resting her head on Rin’s shoulder and sighing, “Kayo-chin’s so lucky to have such an _adorable_ , brilliant girlfriend that thinks of things like this. _You_ should be our manager… _while_ being on stage with us.”  
  
Hanayo grinned, blushing a little at the sight as Rin’s face went critical. “Nya!! Rin’s thinking of playing football instead, actually… _something_ that keeps you moving.”  
  
“Idol’s need to be in near _constant_ motion, _while_ maintaining breath and facial control. No worries about struggling with athletics,” Hanayo assured, “Please?”  
  
Rin immediately lost the wind in her sails, “That’s not fair, nya… and it still doesn’t fix the two issues!”  
  
“Definitely our manager,” Maki reiterated.  
  
“Who could we turn to though... most of the rest of the class are aiming to join already existing clubs,” Hanayo mused.  
  
“The other clubs then,” Maki shrugged, finally lifting off of Rin’s shoulder and digging into her lunch, “I’m sure _someone’ll_ be willing to senpai it up for their kouhais!”  


* * *

  
  
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, seeking The Fluttering Hand of Otonokizaka,” the second-year girl proclaimed disdainfully. Maki sized her up, glanced at her first year companions, and turned back to the girl.  
  
“Back up dancer.”  
  
“I beg your pardon?” the girl sneered, blazer tied around her waist, button-up’s sleeves rolled past her elbows, and shinai resting lazily on her shoulder.  
  
Maki turned the volume down on her headset, slid them down to rest on her shoulders and poked the _much_ taller girl on her rock-solid bicep. “You would make an _amazing_ backup dancer. Total front-liner. Your physique is _incredible_ .”  
  
The girl took a step back, eyes wide. She had to readjust her glasses before answering, “I… _of course it is!_ I have spent the last year training with the world’s greatest prodigy of high-school kendo in the world! To suggest that I should throw that away for… _back up dancing.”_  
  
“ _Not cool,”_ Maki proclaimed and the world… shifted. The angles grew sharper. The colors more vibrant. A tone resonated over the loudspeakers and Maki snapped her fingers, assuming half of the starting pose of MiRei’s legendary breakout, ‘Sister My Sister,’ and continued, “Kayo-chin, Rin-tan, let’s show this non-believer th-”  
  
But before she could continue, the strange world filter faded. It, and Maki’s call to arms, shattered by the arrival of bright beautiful eyes and a hasty, “I’ll take care of this Elena.”  
  
“Kotori-sama…”  
  
“Hello,” Kotori greeted cautiously, “How can I help you girls?”  
  
“We’re looking to start a school idol group,” Hanayo took charge, surprising Rin who looked on starry-eyed.  
  
“We need costu-” Maki began, but was once again interrupted.  
  
“I’ll do it,” Kotori interjected eagerly, nearly knocking over the towering Elena in her haste to take Maki’s hands up in her own.  
  
Distantly, Maki was aware of the girl’s excited proclamations of having the opportunity to work within a new genre. Somewhere, there was the acknowledgement (once again) of how wonderful it was to be in a school surrounded by so _many_ beautiful women. What stood out though… what nearly blew the redhead away… was the sense of _power_ in those hands. Soft yet hard. Tense, but absolutely still. Like… if she held her hands still, that location had become a universal constant. A TARDIS of appendages. Golden.  
  
She released Maki’s hands and gave her a knowing wink, following up with, “An idol would need music as well, am I right?”  
  
Maki nodded dumbly as Hanayo spoke up, “You can do that too?”  
  
“No… but I know someone who _can_ .”  


* * *

  
  
As hostile Kotori’s guardian had been, she was _nothing_ compared to the imposing, disdainful watch of the third years as the trio approached the music room. Maki had to take both of her friends by the hand, not only to continue pulling them along, but also to encourage _herself_ that she wasn’t alone.  
  
Maki wasn’t the type, so this kind of chilling did _nothing_ for her. However, even _this_ paled before the intimidation factor of what waited behind that door.  
  
Maki had listened to _a lot_ of music in her life… but what came from the other side of that door was an art beyond. Crystalline ephemeral emotion wafted through the air. A melancholic cascade of highs and drops that had her eyes watering. Even approaching the door felt like a blasphemy… but then Maki drew close enough to see in the window.  
  
Once more, the world sharpened and saturated. Her heart swelled beyond the music’s capacity to impair. Once again, the speaker system dinged, seeming to draw the vision at the piano’s attention away from her song. Maki pressed forward, swinging the doors wide and barging in, wiping her eyes clear and leaving Hanayo and Rin to follow under their own power.  
  
With an expression of annoyance, the girl at the piano stood. Surprisingly short, but no less a presence. Short cropped hair hugged tight at her neck and swept from her brow. She tucked it behind her ear before turning her ire at the first years and declaring, “Why are you disturbing my practice?”  
  
“My name is Nishikino Maki,” Maki declared, the world growing sharper and the older girl’s tension rising, “My friends and I have come to ask for your help.”  
  
With zero drop in tension, the girl feigned relaxing, smiling and straightening her button-up and black vest before deepening her voice to reply, “I always have time for the little kittens of Otonokizaka…”  
  
Somehow, the girl’s presence diminished, giving Maki the space to draw up her own and continue, “We are going to become school idols… but we need songs to sing. Minami-senpai suggested you… and after hearing your music, I _know_ you can help us lift hearts and make smiles!”  
  
“School… idols?” the musician of Suspension sneered, “You would have me… craft _pop_ music?”  
  
“I ask you to help us make music that will encourage, refresh and enliven!” Maki continued proudly, forcing the older girl back a step, “... but _beyond that._ I want you… to _join us!_ ”  
  
“What!?” Rin, Hanayo, and Nico shouted.  
  
Nico took a step back, brushing her hair from her eyes again before protesting, “ _Me?_ A _school idol?_ I already _am_ a-”  
  
“You’re not!” Maki aggressed, stepping closer, “Your song is full of sorrow. You, one of the most _beautiful_ women I’ve ever seen… are trapaising as a _man?_ ”  
  
“It’s a takarazuka club,” Nico deadpanned, though her cheeks were _certainly_ flushing, “That’s kind of our thing.”  
  
“And you do a _damn_ fine job of it,” Maki continued, relentless as she continued approaching, “But the fact remains. I want to dance on stage _with you_ . _As your girlfriend._ ”  
  
Nico’s spit-take was echoed by all the listeners hovering nearby. As _another_ tone rang out through the speaker-system, Nico’s eyes boggled and she faced the oncoming Maki in a panic, “Wha… what are you, gay or something?”  
  
“Oh, I’m _hella_ gay,” Maki announced casually.  
  
“ _Unbelievably_ gay,” Hanayo added in support.  
  
“Nya... she’s pretty gay,” Rin finished.  
  
“So, I ask again,” Maki continued, stepping up to the overwhelmed third-year, “Will you consider writing music for us?”  
  
“And separate of that…” Maki began as she knelt in front of the girl, sending the outraged/intrigued fans outside into a frenzy, taking the girls petite and and pressing her forehead to it, “Would you consider granting me the honor of being _my_ princess?”  
  
Nico stared at the girl, then the loudspeaker, then the two who followed her in. She swallowed, face blisteringly red, and answered, “Maki… I-”  
  
“ _HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”_  
  
The world filter shattered once more. At the door, the two other leaders of Suspension stood, in full tuxedos, arms crossed and eyes stern.  
  
The Divine imperiously decreed, “Ayase Eli. Student Council President and The Divine of the Glorious Suspension Between Heaven and Earth.”  
  
At her side, lofty and imposing, “Tojo Nozomi. Student Council Vice President and The Miraculous Transformation of the Glorious Suspension Between Heaven and Earth.”  
  
Nico did not pull back her hand, but she did steady herself to add, “Yazawa Nico, The Heaven’s Melody of the Glorious Suspension Between Heaven and Earth…”  
  
The first years froze. The surrounding third years grinned, awaiting the coming dress-down. … it did not come. Instead, Eli looked at the clock, the room’s loud speaker, and then the four by the piano. She sighed dramatically and announced, “With me, you three. There is something you need to see.”  


* * *

  
  
The six walked in silence. Maki had not yet relinquished Nico’s hand, but neither had Nico attempted to reclaim it. They entered the boiler room, much to the confusion of the first years that only heightened as they entered _another_ stairwell leading down.  
  
Down, down, and down. Four flights before stopping abruptly in front of a freight elevator. They stopped here, and then the six weren’t alone…  
  
“Hey! It’s the girl from this morning!” Side-tail, orange-hair cheered and waved.  
  
Bluenette subtly moved closer, growling and making Kotori to her right giggle.  
  
“You heard it too then?” Eli asked for assurance.  
  
“I did,” blue and territorial grumbled, “You’re sure it’s them?”  
  
“I am,” Kotori answered, echoed by Nico.  
  
“Nya’m sorry… what?” Rin asked finally, clearly preparing to bolt at any second and drag Hanayo with her.  
  
Eli sighed and pressed the call button, opening the elevator doors and waiting for everyone to step in. As they boarded, she explained, “Otonokizaka is… more than it seems. Not much was handed down as explanation to us, but the best we can tell, three students are selected every year.”  
  
The elevator descended, slow at first but with increasing speed, “These students whose dreams align are granted the schools blessings, _and_ its burden.”  
  
The darkness of beyond the elevator cab gave way to… sunlight? The stark acceleration reversed, screeching and slowing until it settled at the bottom of the shaft with only the slightest of impacts. The door opened and the six ushered the three as Eli continued, “ _This_ will become your daily club activity. Every day, at the end of classes, the school draws all of every student’s anxieties and fears. It frees them, but that negativity coalesces here… in this chamber.”  
  
Two of the second years, brandishing the weapons of their trades, quickly traversed the suspension bridge to the platform, which seemed to be held aloft from below. They surrounded the platform’s center as the third years slowly guided the firsts, “It is our duty to protect the students above from the atrocities that the world and their own insecurities have inflicted upon them. Are you ready?”  
  
“It’s an idol’s duty to bring smiles to their audience,” Hanayo grinned, squeezing Rin’s hand reassuringly.  
  
“We were _made_ for this,” Maki agreed, sliding on her headset once more. She turned toward Nico, who was still staring at the taller first year in wonder. She squeezed her hand again and promised, “We’ll continue _this_ later… alright?”  
  
After she let go, the shorter girl’s demeanor turned debonaire, “Confident, aren’t you little kitten?”  
  
“Confident I wanna make you smile, _princess_ ,” Maki returned with a wink.  
  
“Alright, enough with the flirting,” Nozomi chided as the walls surrounding the elevated platform began to rumble, “It’s coming.”  
  
“Bring. It. On,” Maki grinned, cranking Cherri’s new single up loud enough that her headset shifted to loudspeaker mode.  
  
This school year was going to be _amazing._

 

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

 

Oh my god, this would be _so much fun_ to explore more. Aaaaugh!

I hope you have even half the fun reading this that I did writing it.  
  
Ari practically demands that I draw the Three Princes, primarily because big bara Nozo. /fans self


	9. Summer Camp

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 9 - Summer Camp**

  
  


  
Cricket chirps filled the bonfire air as Maki swatted at her legs,  _ certain _ that the tingling she felt was some kind of winged blood-sucking parasite... because irony.  _ Why _ did she have to wear her shortest shorts to this stupid ‘courage test’ or whatever it was called. Why did she even  _ bring _ them to camp?   
  
“Why am I even here?” she groaned, leaning back into Kotori who smirked and looped an arm around her.   
  
“I was pretty surprised too,” her friend admitted, squeezing her enough to earn half a smile, “It’s not like you’re getting to take advantage of most of the events.”   
  
“I wouldn’t miss a chance to hang with my best girl,” Maki assured, bumping her forehead into the girl’s hair before gesturing to their surroundings, “I meant out here. This kind of thing just…  _ never _ ends well.”   
  
“That’s not  _ your _ fault,” Kotori soothed, leaning in to peck her on the cheek, “... and I’m  _ sure _ they’ve got a handle on things this year.”   
  
As if to give the girl’s words credence, their group counselor and designated witch walked up to the pair, raising her wide-brimmed hat and chiding, “Maki… where’s your seal?”   
  
Maki slumped away from her banshee best friend and fanned her fingers out on display, sighing, “Come  _ on _ , Nozomi… aren’t the rings  _ and _ the necklace enough? I  _ hate _ wearing that stupid ofuda…”   
  
Nozomi frowned and grumbled, “I know they’re hard to see around… but  _ you _ know I’m legally supposed to keep at least one A-Class removable seal on guests of your station at all times.”   
  
Now things were getting embarrassing. The other girls were starting to pay attention and  _ that _ never really ended well either. With a fanged grimace, Maki sighed, “ _ Fine _ … do I have to go back to the lodge to get it or do you have one on you?”   
  
“All I have on me is a bracelet,” she offered apologetically, “It’s pretty harsh.”   
  
“Tch… I’ll take it. At least  _ that _ doesn’t get in the way as badly.”   
  
She offered her wrist and Nozomi stretched the circle of beads around her hand, snapping it into place. It tightened and the seal kicked in, drawing a surprise hiss of pain until she acclimated.   
  
“This is why I’d prefer the ofuda…,” Nozomi frowned, but was waved off.   
  
“It’s fine. I don’t particularly mind it.”   
  
“Masochist~” Kotori teased, earning her a glare and a retaliatory poke.   
  
Nozomi shook her head and moved to the front of the gathering next to the adjacent camp’s counselor. Ayase something. Really pretty half-siren. Smelled like the ocean and deeply-suppressed passion.   
  
“Alright,” said half-siren announced, “This is a test of courage, but we’re allowing you to move in pairs.”   
  
Nozomi chipped in, “Since we  _ are _ going to be holding this in the forest, remember to stay on the path,  _ and  _ stay with your partner. It’s all fun and games until the shadow  _ actually _ seeks to claim you.”   
  
“Isn’t this… kinda dangerous?” asked a cute Inari from the other camp. Adorable human form. Cute bastet hanging on her too.   
  
“That’s why they call it a test of courage, Hanayo,” Ayase answered flatly before continuing, “So, like Nozomi  _ said _ , stay on the path. We’ve secured a Theta-level quarantine reaching two kilometers in. At the end of the path is a way-gate leading back to the mess hall where you’ll be rewarded with smores.”   
  
“ _ So  _ many smores,” Nozomi grinned.   
  
“There are also suitable smores alternatives for those of you incapable of ingesting that sort of thing,” Eli announced, “Your respective tastes  _ have _ been accounted for.”   
  
“The smores are more for us,” Nozomi grinned wider.   
  
“So make  _ sure _ you move along quickly. First, because it’s only a Theta level zone. Second because we don’t want your pairs to become small groups, as that concentration would make a shadow incursion  _ far _ more likely. Third, Nozomi will eat all the smores herself and then I’ll have to listen to her cry all night over how her  _ tummy _ hurts.”   
  
“I would  _ not!” _ Nozomi protested as most of the gathering laughed, “When it comes to smores, ice cream, and spaghetti, my stomach is a  _ direct passage to the void _ .”   
  
Kotori had slid in close to Maki’s side again, clearly in a bid to mooch body heat, which she was happy to supply. It wasn’t often she had people  _ willingly  _ approach or even touch her. The girl raised her hand, which was immediately acknowledged by Ayase, and asked, “What about people who want out mid-way?”   
  
“We have another counselor patrolling for shadow inside the quarantine,” Nozomi answered with a smile, “She can provide immediate transport out if you get too scared… or, obviously, in the event of a shadow incursion.”   
  
Kotori relaxed and Maki looped an arm around the chilled specter. She smiled at the relaxing of the Inari girl’s shoulders and whispered, “That was sweet of you.”   
  
“Thanks. So, level with me,” Kotori answered, “Why are you  _ really _ out here?”   
  
“... to participate in a camp activity with my best friend?” Maki answered drolly.   
  
“Uh huh. So you’re disappointment that a certain dark-haired witch  _ wasn’t _ up there giving instructions had nothing to do with it?”   
  
“Nope,” Maki chirped softly, licking her lips and giving a feral grin, “ _ That _ means she’s somewhere  _ in there _ .”   
  
“I feel so used,” Kotori giggled, “You aren’t going to try to distract her from her job, are you?”   
  
Maki growled, concerned that the others nearby could hear despite their own conversations, “I  _ still _ don’t know what she is. Her scent is driving me  _ crazy _ .”   
  
Kotori’s expression grew more serious. Her voice dropped drastically as she leaned in and asked, “You’re not thinking of…  _ actually _ biting her, are you?”   
  
“Double whammy. Mom’s side is acting up too,” Maki grumbled, too embarrassed to meet Kotori’s incredulous gaze.   
  
“No way…  _ Maki!” _ Kotori hush-gasped, “She’s a  _ counselor _ .”   
  
Maki glowered, “Please, we’re both probably older than those three girls  _ combined _ … and she… she just  _ smells _ so…”   
  
“You left your ward back at the cabin  _ on purpose _ , didn’t you?” Kotori marveled as the first and second groups had already embarked.   
  
Maki couldn’t answer, which in itself was plenty incriminating.   
  
“... and I’ll have you know, no matter  _ how _ many generations pass, I’m  _ still _ just a girl at heart,” Kotori pouted, crossing her arms and looking away.   
  
“Easily a  _ best _ girl,” Maki smirked, “... So… would you be mad if I slipped off the bracelet once we’re inside?”   
  
_ “Maki!” _ Kotori whispered harshly.   
  
The redhead growled quietly, “I can’t tell a cat’s blood from a kitsune’s like this! It  _ sucks _ … and I’ve  _ got  _ to know what she is...”   
  
“... We go to the back of the line,” Kotori compromised, “That way, if you  _ do _ draw trouble, all the others will be out of harm’s way, alright?”   
  
“And they say  _ Casper’s _ the friendly ghost,” Maki teased, all narrow-eyed and toothy-grins.   
  
The two girls started toward the back, surprising several of the other girls not too preoccupied enough to notice. Kotori teased back, “Hey,  _ I _ just don’t want to get banned from future events… not  _ all _ of us have your resources to get around whenever they want.”   
  
“Yeah, yeah,” Maki waved off wearily, slapping at her thigh again. Stupid mosquitoes. She yawned as flashes of light lit the skyline and scared/excited screams echoed from the woods.   
  
  


* * *

  
  
“ _ There _ you are,” Nozomi sighed as the pair approached, “I was starting to think you’d wandered off back to the cabin.   
  
“I figured I’d give your Care Scare Crew in there a chance to get warmed up,” Maki winked, arm-in-arm with her spectral bestie.   
  
“Uh huh,” Ayase leaned in unimpressed, “I’m  _ sure _ I don’t need to remind you, but this is a test of  _ courage _ .  _ Not _ of property damage or terrorizing my extended coven.”   
  
Kotori giggled as Maki held her right hand up and crossed over her heart with her left with a droll, “I swear I won’t eat  _ or  _ seduce anyone.”   
  
Ayase sighed as Nozomi fastened beacons to both girls’ wrists. After a test-tug to make sure they were secured, she ran through her spiel. “Alright, two kilometers straight ahead. Stay on the path, no powers, no rituals, no attacking the help. We’ll wait here until we’ve received confirmation that you’ve crossed over to the mess hall.”   
  
“Yeah, an’ you better hurry or I’ll gobble up all your smores,” Maki jeered.   
  
“You don’t even  _ eat _ that kind of…” Nozomi began before catching on that it was in jest, “You… I suppose I should reiterate,  _ please _ don’t attack the kids. They’re just doing their jobs.”   
  
“I’m sure I have  _ no _ idea what you’re talking about, but now I’m all  _ excited _ ,” Maki teased again, letting loose  _ just enough _ juice for her eyes to glow.   
  
“ _ None of that _ ,” Ayase grumbled, “Jeez, Nishikino…”   
  
“Sorry~” Maki teased again, tongue out.   
  
“I’ll keep her on her best behavior,” Kotori claimed, ruffling the girl’s hair.   
  
“Have fun, you two. Just not  _ too _ much,” Nozomi offered in parting.   
  
The pair walked off and within moments, the forest appeared to close in behind them. Kotori squeaked and clung to Maki’s arm again, prompting a smile and nod from the redhead.   
  
“Nice effect. I kinda wish we’d come in first just to watch the others go through.”   
  
Kotori agreed, “Some of those kids would have been  _ so  _ cute… so… can you smell her yet?”   
  
“Nope. Gonna wait ‘til we’ve run into one or two of their jumpscares. I’m sure she’s further in,” Maki explained, licking her lips again, “I hope they’ve got  _ something _ sweet waiting for me at the hall… because I’m working up an appetite just  _ thinking _ about her.”   
  
Kotori pulled away, staring as they slowly continued down the path, “I don’t think I’ve seen you have it this bad in years…”   
  
“Try decades,” Maki grumbled, rubbing her eyes in a moment of frustration, “It’d be  _ one _ thing if it was  _ just _ the scent… but… she’s also so nice…”   
  
“On the eyes?” Kotori prompted.   
  
“That too,” Maki whined, picking at the seal on her wrist distractedly, steam rising as it strained against her agitated youki, “I’m glad you’re here or I’d probably have to just leave the camp altogether.”   
  
“Aww, I’m an anchor for you?” Kotori gushed, hands on cheeks, “Whatever this girl is, I’m grateful. You’re  _ never _ this open.”   
  
The redhead looked away, feigning a stretch to avoid looking too embarrassed, “Uh huh… so… what do you think they’ve got in store up ahead? Sheets wrapped around paint cans they’ll swing from the trees? Spooooooky flashlights.”   
  
“... This is your first time at one of these, isn’t it?” Kotori replied sympathetically, “It sounds like you’ve only  _ read _ about them.”   
  
“I also have experience with  _ numerous _ televised accounts,” Maki bragged haughtily, buffing her nails.   
  
“... I take it back. This should be fun for  _ me _ to watch,” Kotori grinned, “You are  _ such _ a little nerdling.”   
  
“I’m taller than you,” Maki shot back before spinning around theatrically, arms wide, “... and  _ what _ have  _ I _ to fear in a place like  _ this!? _ ”   
  
As if on cue, the braying of a wolf sounded in the distance. Maki’s arms dropped and her expression soured, earning a series of giggles from her companion as she whined, “Ugh…  _ dogs?” _   
  
  


* * *

  
  
“So, they’re  _ really _ banking on the ambiance and the legitimate threat of an incursion, aren’t they?” Maki asked as their walk remained completely uneventful aside of the continuing mosquito menace and distant animal calls.   
  
At her side, placid as ever, Kotori reminded, “Anticipation is a good tool for building up to a good scare.”   
  
“Is that something you’ve taken up lately?” Maki inquired, “Spooking the locals like a common ghost?”   
  
“It helps pass the time and gives the kids something to talk about,” Kotori shrugged with her perpetual broad smile.”   
  
Maki pouted  _ deeply _ , “If  _ I _ tried something like that, I’d get put on probation for years… they’d be all,  _ ‘No feeding from the humans! You can’t just dabble in their lives like that!’ _ blah blah blah.”   
  
“Maki. Sweetie. You know I love you, but there’s a difference between drawing on ambient emotion and actual blood and life force. You  _ do _ know that, right?”   
  
Maki’s posture drooped even more, “I do, but it’s not like I wouldn’t make up for it. The alternatives just aren’t the same. Half the time I think they’re just trying to starve me out.”   
  
“Is it  _ really _ all that bad?” Kotori dubiously asked.   
  
“... No, but it  _ does  _ get lone-…  _ boring _ in my quadrat. The internet is great and all, but all the serum in the  _ world _ wouldn’t help with Mom’s side.”   
  
“Aww, is my favorite vampire princess lonely?” Kotori teased, latching back onto her arm.   
  
“Well... kinda. Yeah,” Maki admitted, leaning into the other girl more than Kotori seemed to be expecting.   
  
“That’s so sad… Gasper, play Despacito,” Kotori answered sympathetically, earning a snort from the redhead.   
  
“You are such a-”   
  
“HOLD, FOUL BEAST!!” a woman’s voice cried from the forest, seconds before two shimmering bolts of light kicked up the dirt to the two girls’ sides, drawing panicked shrieks from the two girls. The light quickly dispersed after impact, revealing… arrows?   
  
A shrine maiden with long blue hair leapt from the treeline, firing another volley of light-blessed arrows that sent the girls sprinting down the path. Real panic gripped Maki as she recognized the charged scent of zephyr. She shoved her now fully levitating companion ahead of her and turned, eyes watering at the thought of just  _ one _ of those bolts evaporating her friend.   
  
“ _ What are you doing!? _ ” Maki shrieked, scratching at her bracelet seal but finding it a little  _ too _ firmly settled to budge.”   
  
The bluenette nocked an arrow and took aim on the redhead, her stern gaze not breaking as she boasted, “I’ve purified  _ every _ beast and monster that has walked this path… and now I’ll do the same to you.”   
  
“You’re lying!”   
  
Kotori smacked into her from behind and started tugging on her arm, “Come on!! Keep running! Don’t let her  _ get _ you!”   
  
The bluenette scowled, not dropping her aim, “Oh good. I thought you were going to make this hard for me...”   
  
“Are you  _ really  _ a shrine maiden!?” Kotori cried, “Why would you do this?”   
  
… and she was. Umi was haloed in a soft white glow that seemed to concentrate around the arrow she had drawn. The purity of that light held real potency… but potency that wasn’t echoed anywhere in the ambient air… and the previous shots had left a telltale scent.   
  
“Oh, she’s the real deal alright,” Maki deduced nervously, “You didn’t  _ really _ hurt anyone else, did you? This is all just a jump scare, right?”   
  
“ _ Of course _ I didn’t,” Umi pouted, dropping her aim as Kotori started to openly weep and continued tugging Maki’s arm, “Oh… sweetheart, I’m sorry!”

Kotori wailed, her voice reaching a dangerous height, “That wasn’t funny at all!”   
  
“Ko-chi,” Maki warned, now nervous about the  _ other _ thing, “Remember what Nozomi said. No powers. You can’t risk drawing them here… even with light-brite over there. Everything’s going to be fine.”   
  
“That’s right!” the maiden assured, dropping her bow entirely and reaching into her belt to pull out… candy? “Here, I’ve got candy. Do you like chocolate?”   
  
Kotori, her face slightly distorted from the weeping and eyes  _ adorably _ wide nodded as she sniffed.   
  
“See? I’m not going to hurt you…” she assured, “I’m Umi. Is your name Ko-chi?”   
  
“Kotori…,” Kotori answered, her color returning a little and her form re-solidifying.   
  
“Check it out Ko-chi,” Maki encouraged, winking (in total relief) at the maiden, “Your first shrine maiden. ...and she’s a real cutie.”   
  
“Chocolate for you too, that was pretty brave of… oh, you can’t eat it, can you?”   
  
“Mom’s side comes through again,” Maki grinned, accepting what looked to be a hand-made morsel, “Thanks Umi!”   
  
“Oh, she  _ is _ pretty!” Kotori breezed, flowing through Maki in her haste to accept Umi’s offering. Total gear shift. “Prettier than I could have imagined! You’re so  _ shiny! _ ”   
  
“Uh oh,” Maki teased as Umi looked to her in panic, Kotori was  _ totally _ smitten, “Looks like you’ve made a friend.”   
  
“Maki, you go on ahead, I have a  _ million _ questions I want to ask her,” Kotori cooed as she wrapped herself around an increasingly tense-smiling Umi.   
  
“You sure?”   
  
_ “Definitely” _   
  
Maki grinned, winking at Umi’s silently mouthed ‘Help me!’ and promising, “I’ll save you a smore.”    
  
And then she was jogging away.  _ Perfect _ . She picked at her bracelet a little harder, biting her lip in anticipation of catching the scent of Camp Site A’s delectable witch. Hopefully she wasn’t watching any of that… Umi  _ totally  _ had her going. How embarrassing!   
  
  


* * *

  
  
Whatever short, pink, twin-tailed, and witchy was, she was  _ not  _ good at hiding. Sure, Maki had a  _ totally _ unfair advantage in that being so close let the woman’s scent overpower even the persistent (and now steaming) seal, but if she wanted those bushes to provide cover she shouldn’t be holding her hair back with a pink scunci.  

Jump scare it was. Unlike with Umi or with the similarly themed knight attack from camp director Honoka, short stack didn’t seem to have any of the greatest hits visual themes. Worse, she wasn’t even wearing the standardized robes designating her as a camp witch.   
  
As Maki approached, the short woman fell from the bushes, dropped onto her side, and simply… laid there. Fake blood covered her clothes and spilled out from a burst pack under her head. It would have been pretty convincing if Maki wasn’t what she was…    
  
In this case, it only heightened the fever pitch longing that gripped Maki as the visual keyed into at least  _ one _ of the fantasies she’d had over the course of the week. Eyes wide, she gulped and crouched beside the woman, playing along and asking, “... you alright?”   
  
“BWAUGH!” she yelled, the smaller woman’s eyes shooting open and her hands reaching wide. Maki  _ did _ pull back just a little, but mostly just to avoid getting smacked in the face. Her eyes locking onto the smaller woman’s, immediately entranced.   
  
As soon as the petite witch realized which camper she’d nearly smacked, she panicked and scooted backwards, rocketing to the other side of the path. Maki just continued to stare, greeting with a raised hand and a weak, “Uhh… hi!”   
  
“H-hey there! Uhh… thanks for… oh man…,” the witch faltered. In the time it took her to blink, Maki had crossed the distance and was crouching right in front of her with the same obsessive fervor, “Eek!”   
  
“I’m Maki,” Maki stated, nails pressing into her knees, “Who  _ are _ you and why do you smell so good?”   
  
“Nico,” the witch gulped, “... and… uhh… good shampoo?”   
  
“I want to switch to your cabin,” Maki stated, unblinking.   
  
Nervous smiling, Nico countered, “Don’t you… want to stay with your friend?”   
  
“Ko-chi’ll understand,” Maki brushed off, shimmying closer, steam steadily rising from her wrist, “Do you have a private room?”   
  
“That’s ahh… hardly appropriate,” Nico warded, slipping onto her back, “What do you say we go back for smores, huh? That sounds good right?”   
  
“You can’t just be human,” Maki continued, ignoring the suggestion and swallowing, “You smell like… zephyr… and strawberries. Powerful. Like… if charisma had a scent...”   
  
“Okay, that’s kind of flattering actuall- wait  _ how _ old are you!?” Nico redirected as the flattery started to stick, “Come on, I’m a camp counselor! If someone saw this they’d get the wrong idea!”   
  
“Old enough,” Maki answered,  _ still _ not blinking and having nearly crawled onto the woman’s lap, “If anything, I should be weirded out by how young  _ you _ probably are.”   
  
_ “Hey,” _ Nico bit back, finally regaining some of her composure with the power of annoyance, “Is that a shot about my height!”   
  
“Huh?” Maki finally blinked, nonplussed by the sudden ire, “No.”   
  
Nico sighed, covering her face in frustration, “Come on, let’s go back to the hall. We could talk about this there?”   
  
“We can talk here. I don’t mind,” Maki fixated leaning in. Then, to both of their surprise, just as Maki was about to lay fully on the pinned counselor, she began to levitate. Nozomi came out of the woods, wand aloft, with Eli, Umi, and Kotori close behind.   
  
“Oh! Congratulations Maki!!” Kotori cheered, still clinging to her shrine maiden.   
  
“Nicocchi… honestly, I’m surprised at you. Fraternizing with the campers,” Nozomi teased.   
  
Nico sputtered, “It… it wasn’t like that!”   
  
“We should  _ totally _ make it like that,” Maki commented, slowly rotating mid-air from her momentum and constantly turning her head to keep the short counselor in sight, “Sorry Nozomi, Ko-chi, I’m switching cabins.”   
  
“Good for you, Maki!” Kotori grinned.   
  
“Nico, please tell me you didn’t encourage this kind of behavior,” Eli groaned, pinching her nose.   
  
“I didn’t!” Nico proclaimed, exasperated.   
  
“Whatever happened, she’s  _ totally _ fixated,” Nozomi marveled, poking Maki on the cheek and being ignored.   
  
“Why is this happening to me!?” Nico wailed.

 

* * *

**Author’s Notes:** **  
** **  
** I’d originally started taking this down a more action high-powered angle, but that didn’t really jive with the beginning of the story. I’ll include it below as an… AU to this AU? I feel like I’d want to explore the world system more as the prompt kind of slipped away from me. Definitely feels like one of the least successful of my runs at these prompts so far, but that might be because bad summer camp experiences?   
  
Ultimately, the idea that Nico was a nephilim was the secret to Maki’s scent obsession was going to be key, but I just couldn’t figure out a way to fit it in organically. This would have had to run like… three times longer than it already has to feel right and it’s already kind of all over the place. Kind of a shame coming off of yesterday’s which was so much fun.

 

Ah well. Here’s the first version. <3 back to work~   
  
  


* * *

  
  


“That’s so sad… Gasper, play Despacito,” Kotori answered sympathetically, earning a snort from the redhead.   
  
“You are such a-”   
  
“HOLD, FOUL BEAST!!” a woman’s voice cried from the forest, seconds before two shimmering bolts of light kicked up the dirt to the two girls’ sides. The light quickly dispersed after impact, revealing… arrows?   
  
Kotori  _ did _ gasp, but it was clearly not out of fear as a shrine maiden leapt from the treeline, throwing a wave of ofuda that created a loose circle around the pair.   
  
“Oh. Umi,” Maki waved, “They got  _ you _ working this thing?”   
  
The bluenette nocked an arrow and took aim on the redhead, her stern gaze not breaking as she boasted, “I’ve purified  _ every _ beast and monster that has walked this path… and now I’ll do the same to you.”   
  
“Uh huh, what is a man, miserable pile, blah blah,” Maki droned.   
  
Kotori smacked her on the arm as Umi’s steely gaze became a petulant frown, “It’s not fun if you don’t play along!” She then turned to the bluenette and assured, “I think you did a  _ lovely _ job. Umi, was it?”   
  
Umi scowled, relaxing but not dropping her aim, “They warned me you’d be like this. Yes, hello. Sonoda Umi.”   
  
“Are you  _ really  _ a shrine maiden?” Kotori gushed, “You’re so… shiny!”   
  
… and she was. Umi was haloed in a soft white glow that seemed to concentrate around the arrow she had drawn. The purity of that light held real potency, making her appear even more exasperated at Kotori’s complete lack of fear of the situation.   
  
“Oh, she’s the real deal alright,” Maki sort-of-boasted, “Part of why I’m so surprised to see her  _ here _ entertaining kids. Are things really that quiet on the front?”   
  
“I’m  _ here _ because of shameless, reckless things like  _ you _ showing up and endangering a new generation of supernals!” she refocused, her aura honing the edge of her arrow.   
  
“Hey! I’m just a girl too, I came here to have a good time...” Maki pouted, stepping away from Kotori and watching the maiden’s aim carefully follow as she raised her hands, “... and I’m feeling  _ really _ attacked right now.”   
  
“You can see,” Kotori added, “She really  _ does _ need to get out more.”   
  
“ _ Why _ aren’t you panicking more?” Umi pouted, “Eli said that I should be able to get a rise out of even  _ you.” _   
  
“I  _ am _ impressed,” Maki smiled weakly, hands still in the air, “You’re kind of a celebrity. I’d be more inclined to be asking for an autograph right now if you weren’t aiming the overkill machine at me. Seriously, Kotori, you didn’t tell me this camp had a  _ budget. _ ”   
  
“It’s the best!” Kotori gushed,  _ clearly  _ taken with the shining woman.   
  
“So… jumpscare failed? Could you clear the circle so we can get moving? I’ve got a date I’d like to not keep waiting,” Maki suggested.   
  
“... You’re actually sealed right now, aren’t you?”   
  
“Ring and necklace suppressants and an A-class bracelet,” Maki breezily replied, shaking her affected wrist, “What, you’re not gonna get frisky with me, are you?”   
  
“ _ Shameless! _ ” Umi blushed, drawing a giggle from Kotori before she pulled the rest of her draw back, “... and no, I wouldn’t offer myself to something like  _ you. _ ”   
  
“The jumpscare failed, but you’re starting to make me nervous here Umi-lu. Are we free to go or are you looking to throw down?” Maki swallowed, eyeing her friend cautiously, “Kotori over there isn’t as sturdy as I am… and she’s done nothing to get on your short list.”   
  
“I am aware of Ms. Minami’s credentials, as I am of all of the current occupants of this facility,” Umi assured, “She, unlike yourself, is a presence to be protected.”   
  
“As long as we’ve got that clear, I’m down for whatever.”   
  
“Ahh… this is…,” Kotori interjected, sounding very nervous, “This isn’t funny.”   
  
“No, Ms. Minami,” Umi answered between gritted teeth, “It most certainly is not.”   
  
“Ko-chi,” Maki warned, “Remember what Nozomi said. No powers. You can’t risk drawing them here… even with lightbrite over there. Everything’s going to be fine.”   
  
“Maki…?”   
  
Umi loosed her arrow.  _ Obviously _ it was carefully aimed at the last moment to fly between the two girls. There was  _ no _ other reason for her to have the scent of non-human snacks on her other than to quell lesser supernals’s fears if her presence was too intense for them. An incredibly sweet gesture, meaning she was every bit as kind as as rumors suggested.   
  
While her aggression may not be, Umi’s apprehension  _ was _ legitimate though… and rightfully so. Entirely justified as Maki shot her arm to the side to intercept the arrow with her bracelet seal, filling the path with a surge of light and a burst of wind that blew the ofuda sealing circle at their feet away.   
  
In an instant, Maki crossed the distance to the maiden, taking hold of her hand which was already most of the way to her quiver. She pressed in bodily, reveling in the sensation of her baser capacities returning. With only the  _ slightest  _ touch of sedative in her breath, Maki breathed into the bluenette’s ear, “Take good care of my girl for me… be a dear and escort her the rest of the way?”   
  
Fear, shame, and then arousal welled in the girl’s form as Maki’s capacity to sense such things returned. That wouldn’t do at all. Guiltily, Maki separated quickly, making distance before the maiden could summon forth her divine protection. She skipped toward the treeline, giddily calling out, “I’ll meet you all back at the mess hall~ I’ve got a date with a  _ real cutie~” _   
  
She had to (just barely) dodge an arrow with real intent behind it, but there’d be no stopping her now. The whole of the theta suppression field was now her’s to tip-toe as she pleased. She may have given up the hunt, but that didn’t make the impending chase  _ any _ less enjoyable.   
  
As the static divinity of the powerful maiden and her meeker-powered friend fell behind, Maki breathed deep. The intoxicating whirlwind of zephyr, strawberries, power, charisma, and at least a dozen unknowns became all the more powerful. Such a unique cocktail stirred her into a near frenzy. She bit down on her lip _ hard _ to keep her sense about her as the trees whipped past around her.   
  
  


  
  
Nico glared at her communique crystal. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been expecting this. Had it not been for  _ decades _ of good behavior and the expressed vouching of her very well-respected and  _ also _ well behaved friend, she never would have signed off on accepting her application.   
  
Now they had a double S-rank loose in a mere theta quarantine smack dab in the middle of a known incursion site. No matter  _ how _ long the location had been inactive, this was a disaster just waiting to happen.   
  
“It’s okay,” Nico assured, “I’m just glad you’re not hurt. Is the banshee alright?”   
  
Umi’s voice resonated from the levitating gem, “She’s fine. I may have overdone it a little though. She’s been clinging to me ever since.”   
  
Nico’s expression softened at the thought of the adorable specter clinging to the hardened veteran. She never handled that sort of thing well and it was always hilarious to watch. She even cracked a smirk as Umi continued, “She’s… very friendly.”   
  
“Alright, you have fun cuddling with your squeaky spook. I’ll keep an eye out for Red,” Nico signed off, reaching her hand the rest of the way up to grab and recall the gem. She sighed, shrugging off her camouflage drape and pulling her hair back.   
  
She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. Red was an unfortunate combination. Her parents were major league. The father was old-blood natural-born vamp dynasty. Akashic info request was still out on how far back his line went… and the mother was even  _ worse. _ If the dossier was to be believed, and she had access to direct enough lines for there to be no reason to doubt, she was an off-worlder. Straight out of the K-Lab rift, or as the Force referred to it, Ido-Hel. Honest-to-God succubi royalty. Close enough to the primary line that it stopped mattering to delineate.   
  
Sure, the pair had been instrumental in the Ley Treaty of 2388, fund human-interest groups world-wide, were key innovators in nearly every human health advancement in the past 280 years,  _ and _ helped to fund the creation of the very unit that employed her… but that didn’t mean their  _ kid _ wasn’t going to be a terror.   
  
She’d been singled out from the start, too. Red had been eyeing her since she got off the bus. Plenty obedient, but she’d seen looks like that before from more supernals than she could count.   
  
Nico had no doubt that Red had it out for her.   
  
Why couldn’t they have just gone with stories around the bonfire? Nozomi could have had her stupid smores that way too.   
  
Nico eyed the path. Her job, up until this point, had been to ensure the safety of the little supernals, give them a good scare, and send them on down the path. She was the last scare stop before reaching Kousaka at the waygate. Since the situation had gone to pot, Nico started hoofing it.   
  
Her robes were too damn long for this kind of thing. Irritably, she unsashed her waist and started putting some pep into it. Nobody wanted an incident with the Nishikino, but like  _ hell _ was she going to just let herself get wacked on a kid’s assignment like this. Her wand was still up her sleeve and she still had her birthright. Not that either should be needed.   
  
The light fed her haste, and soon she was enjoying Honoka’s surprised expression. Before Nico could call ahead and tell her to pull out, the path between them erupted as Primary Incident herself made her appearance.   
  
“Found you~” Red drawled, rising up from the all fours she’d arrived on.   
  
“Honoka, get through the gate,” Nico commanded, “Red’s gone rogue.”   
  
Honoka’s eyes went wide and she backed away slowly as Red ignored her to laugh, “You call me Red!? Do you  _ really  _ need an abbreviation?”   
  
Nico tried to keep her breath steady as the girl (Surprisingly lanky thing. Rings and necklace still in place. Non-threatening hostility profile. Flirtatious?) prowled forward, offering a toothy grin, “It’s only two syllables. Ma-Ki. Come on, you can say it.”   
  
Honoka passed through the gate. Good girl. Nico answered, “Sorry Maki. Why did you trick Umi into removing your seal?”   
  
“You try wearing something that burns you non-stop and see how  _ you _ like it,” Red pouted, making a show of displaying the darkened sears along her wrist and forearm where Sonoda’s arrow must have overloaded the bracelet’s circuits, “Besides… I  _ really _ wanted to see you.”   
  
“Me?” Nico played along, hand to chest, “Why would you do all this for little me?”   
  
That seemed to have a remarkable effect. Red’s eyes went wide and she stomped at the ground as she spun around, “God! Ugh! How are you  _ so cute!? _ ”   
  
Huh?   
  
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since I  _ got _ here!” Red whined, holding her head, “You. Smell.  _ Amazing. _ At first I thought I’d be happy just knowing  _ what _ you were, but you’re so damn cute I don’t think it’s going to be enough!”   
  
Half-lidded, Nico deadpanned, “You did all this… because I smell good?”   
  
“Mostly, yeah,” Red answered simply, “That and to spend time with Ko-chi.”   
  
“... Seems kind of risky. Trying something like this right now.”   
  
“You’ve been avoiding me!” Red pouted, “I  _ really _ want to get to know you.”   
  
“Do you even know my name?” Nico asked, gesturing wildly.   
  
“I overheard Nozomi calling you Nico. I didn’t know if it was a really cute nickname or the real thing.”   
  
“... I can  _ not _ believe this,” Nico grumbled, letting her guard down. She relaxed her shoulders, raised her chin and continued, “It’s Nico. Nico Yazawa. Retired S.Maiden Battalion UR-Division.”   
  
Maki whistled at the credential, “So… can we like… I don’t know… hang out sometime?”   
  
“Hang out,” Nico repeated, “You want to hang out. With me?”   
  
“Yeah,” Maki confirmed eagerly, “If not here, after?”   
  
“Because I smell good.”   
  
“That, you’re  _ really _ cute, and… I don’t know… It could be… nice?”   
  
“... Are you trying to pick me up?” Nico asked with growing incredulity, “At a  _ summer camp?” _   
  
“... yes?”   
  
“... How old are you, kid?”   
  
  
  


* * *

 

See you tomorrow~ <3


	10. Secret Agent

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 10 - Secret Agent**

* * *

 

 

“Okay, what are we looking at?”  
  
Deeper tone. Significant nasal cadence. Spoken with authority. Sharp clicks too deep for heels, but still suggested expensive footwear. The immediate following deferral and rustling suggested the handing off of her chart as she was being wheeled toward her operation.  
  
“Jane Doe, five-even, 104 pounds.”  
  
“ _Really_ ?” woman in charge suggested incredulously, earning her instant brownie points, “She barely looks like she could be 70.”  
  
“Athletic build,” the attending nurse explained before continuing, “Very dense muscle mass. Two bullet wounds. The one by her kidney. Missed vitals and cleared but she still has one hovering dangerously close to her left axillary.”  
  
“How close?” The doctor sounded nervous, “The entrance wound looks pretty big. You’re sure it was a bullet?”  
  
“It looks like it impacted something beforehand. Casey didn’t want to risk it so… sorry for calling you in.”  
  
“You know me, always happy to save a pretty girl,” Doctor Flirty boasted, practically _oozing_ confidence. It went a long way toward relaxing Nico’s frayed nerves. Feigning unconsciousness had started growing difficult. The doctor continued, “Lots of abrasions and bruising across her abdomen… and that is a _nasty_ shiner. You’re certain this is all superficial? Any idea who she pissed off?”  
  
“No clue. She just showed up on our doorstep twelve minutes ago and passed out.”  
  
“I’m glad you called me in. Cas is great, but she’s always had trouble around scapulas. Imaging?”  
  
“They should be waiting for you at the table.”  
  
“Thank you Nat, I’ll take it from here,”  
  
The pace of the table changed. All at once, the pathing straightened. Less wobble. More control. Even steps. A warm subdued voice assured, “Don’t worry, beautiful. You’re going to be just fine.”  
  
That almost broke Nico’s feign-game. A smile nearly crept past her passive face. Totally unprofessional, but also incredibly sweet. She’d have to get out of here as soon as possible to avoid dragging her and the rest of her staff into this. A boost on the painkillers would be nice as well.  
  
What followed was a risky stint with oblivion. The painkillers also put her under, which was fair and even somewhat appreciated. It’d been two days since she’d caught any shut-eye that didn’t require keeping one open. When the world re-engaged around her, Nico continued her unconsciousness act, waiting for the rest of her coherency to return.  
  
Run through it. Bring it to the now. A rushed seven-month deep dive uncovered not just the supply chain of the incoming drugs, but side-armed into _actual_ arms. Dangerous arms. Cutting edge, newly machined, military grade. Deeper than her cover permitted access, but far too important not to try, she mapped out names, routes, locations, buyers, suppliers… the motherlode.  
  
Then a sneeze ruined everything.  
  
She hadn’t been caught. All the information was stored in her own memory… which a quick re-run-through confirmed was still intact despite taking a few _really_ nasty shots. As far as her “previous employer” seemed to know, she just had the misfortune of sneezing at the wrong time around the wrong person.  
  
All it had taken was a sneeze from her that spooked the team’s resident cleaner. He spilled his coffee, burned his lap, and took out what was likely a month’s worth of frustration out on her before taking her out back, telling her she was fired, and letting her nearly make it to the docks before firing three shots and laughing as she dropped into the bay.  
  
_Really_ close… if she hadn’t been expecting it, the two that connected would have been a lot worse. She’d have to make sure to personally tear the piece of crap apart when she brought the full force of the Aqours Agency back with her. The thought slipped a smile past her guard, so she quickly shifted it to a grimace to appear believable to any who might be watching.  
  
‘May as well get on with it, then,’ Nico groaned inwardly, flexing fingers, toes, thighs, abs, and on down the line to assess her current capacity. _Jeez_ did her obliques hurt.  
  
“Welcome back, Jane Doe,” a voice greeted. A familiar voice. Warm. Comforting. Dr. Flirty. “You gave us quite a scare.”  
  
Nico forced her eyes to open slowly. Look around. Assess the room with lethargy. Luxurious. Single-patient ER prime real estate. Lock onto red braided hair, at-ease almond lavender eyes, amused smile. Dr. Flirty… rather, as her tag read, Dr. Rachel Shimazu, was apparently a _hell_ of a catch.  
  
“Lexy” Nico corrected, a little more frog in her throat than expected, “... erm… Alexis Pearlman.”  
  
“Well, Lexy, you got on _someone’s_ bad side. We’ll get to that in a moment, but first, do you know why you’re here?”  
  
“Last thing I remember was getting jumped a few blocks from here,” Nico explained on the fly, keeping her expression somber, “I thought that was it for me, but they took off before… well… I managed to get here before passing out.”  
  
“You’re very brave,” Dr. Shimazu offered in a tone of encouragement, “Do you want me to call in the authorities now or do you need some time?”  
  
“Is it still Wednesday?” Nico asked wearily, receiving confirmation as a nod, “... then I’ve had a… _really_ long day. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to take it easy for the rest of the night and just deal with all that tomorrow?”  
  
“That’s fair, though I’ll need to call it in regardless,” the doctor said in that impossibly comforting voice, “Technically, I should be off the clock right now, but I wanted to make sure you were settled before I took off for the night.”  
  
Nico couldn’t help it. She gave in to her whims and winked, “If you’re the attending angel in white, I could handle getting shot more often.”  
  
The doctor’s eyes, and smile, widened, “You _must_ be enjoying those painkillers. Fortunately for _you_ , I occasionally have hours where I’m _not_ working. Particularly for someone as cute as yourself… _when they’re not my patients._ ”  
  
Nico raised her hands to her heart and winced, “Ooooh, shot again… so soon…,” earning her an adorkable snort.  
  
The doctor furthered the flattery by pulling a card from her overcoat, scribbling something on the back, and making sure to make a show of stuffing it into Nico’s wallet, the only belonging that had survived her dunk in the bay. The friendly doctor turned, slapped her knees, took a deep breath and proclaimed, “ _And_ to bypass the risk of becoming inappropriate, _Lexy Pearlman,_ I will let you get some rest. Natalie will be around if you need anything. She’s _wonderful_ and will take good care of you. I don’t expect it, but if you’re gone by the time I come back in… _oh God four hours_ , I wish you a speedy recovery.”  
  
“I’ll five-star you specifically on Yelp,” Nico winked, earning her another easy laugh.  
  
With that, Dr. Flirty Shimazu backed away, maintaining eye contact and bumping into the wall before scurrying out. A breath of fresh, cherry-scented, air amidst a miasma of smoke, violence and (recently) pain.  
  
Nico allowed herself the luxury of five minutes of just laying down and breathing. Then another five of slowly gauging how responsive her limbs were and testing her range of motion. She pouted at her wallet, picking it up and trying to recall where the hospital was in relation to her nearest bug-out bag. Breezy A/C confirmed that she was only sporting a patient gown, her clothes would be crazy bloody and soaked, but at least her shoes seemed to be sitting in the corner by the chairs.  
  
The doc really _had_ been nice. Her shoes looked dry. That, even more than the the adorably awkward and totally inappropriate flirting, told Nico she’d have to swing back around for at _least_ dinner as thanks once this was all over. Spotting laundered but not mended clothing, that upgraded to dessert if things went well enough. She _was_ pretty attractive.  
  
More important things to worry about now. Curtain in place, slowly ease into the clothes. She’d have to be out of active duty for a week or two, meaning she’d have to miss out on ‘accidentally’ putting a slug between that jerk’s eyes or at least his groin when the raid came through. They’d even left her hair-tie in her pocket. High and tight bun, just a little dangle to frame her face. Wallet in pocket. Peek out the door. Walk out like she owned the place, just not through the ER entrance. Deeper into the hospital. These places had _plenty_ of exits and even more confusing hallways to lose would-be pursuers and she needed to _vanish._ __  
  
Nico passed from the single-patients to the open assessment area and immediately regretted it. Sure enough, Dr. Shimazu was bee-lining straight for her with a look of concern and alarm. Even worse, Yurik and Slane, the grizzled piece of work who put her through the wringer, stormed past the ER station manager, immediately locking on to her.  
  
With a chill, she realized they were here to clean up. How did they even know she was here? Shimazu was closer, so Nico met her eyes and took an aggressive step forward, causing the lovely doctor to hesitate for a crucial moment. All the time she needed to pluck a stainless steel tray from a bedside table and whip it across the distance, pelting Slane in his stupid ugly face. He reared back, grabbing his nose and falling into Yurik’s path.  
  
Whipping around again, Nico winked at the pretty doctor she was now certain she’d never see again and took off further into the hospital. This was bad. If they were willing to storm a facility like this, they were confident they’d be able to wipe away the evidence. That meant they were likely well integrated with the local law enforcement. She couldn’t count on them to provide any distraction.  
  
Nico dashed past imaging, ducking into the first stairwell she could find and going up. She’d spotted a skybridge linking this building to the parking garage. All she had to do was hotwire a car and ditch it a block or two away. Just enough to force their search net wider and thinner. She forced her breath to slow despite her heart’s pounding, also slowing her pace as she exited on the third floor. The stairwell echoed too heavily to tell which verticality the frequent door openings and closings were coming from.  
  
Certain that at any corner more of the Caldwell Group would make an appearance, Nico slipped out into the third floor and tried to keep her pace as casual as possible, splitting her hairbun into twin high pigtails. As she rounded corner after corner, the lack of commotion became even more nerve wracking. She followed the signs and soon was crossing the skybridge, not spotting any dangerously familiar faces milling outside.  
  
Her luck ran out as soon as she crossed into the garage. She only barely managed to stop a pistol’s handle from crashing into her nose, locking the wrist and redirecting the weapon’s aim low. She fired into the assailant’s foot twice (Sorry, not sorry Vic), before twisting the weapon free and swinging it high to crack the enforcer on the other side of the door’s jaw.  
  
The jaw didn’t crack, and the big guy didn’t go down. Worse, the sudden action sent her body into convulsions, simply refusing to follow through with the follow-up attack on his knee. Instead, she dropped, gasping as the painkillers proved to not be infallible. She barely managed to raise an ineffectual block against his retaliatory punch, keeping her own jaw from cracking and instead being flung back against a nearby Lexus.  
  
Nico dropped the gun. Malek plodded forward, spitting out a tooth as he stowed his own gun away. Clearly she’d made it personal… and she couldn’t even get her back to cooperate with the concept of standing. Just before she let herself drop and attempt some low-kicking, another figure burst roaring from the door and slammed into the approaching assailant.  
  
Red hair, fierce almond eyes, and an expertly applied choke-hold that meaty old Malek simply wasn’t flexible enough to shake off. Apparently the all-meat diet didn’t do much for his circulation, because he was drooping before he could back up into the next car over. He dropped completely and lovely little Dr. Shimazu was left shaking and tearing up in clear adrenaline overload.  
  
Nico reclaimed the gun, limping to the still conscious and weeping Vic and giving him a good ol’ fashioned cognitive reset. He slumped to the ground in one thwack. Wincing, Nico slumped over to Malek and relieved him of his firearm. Certain she’d torn some stitches, Nico sniffed back the pain and leaned heavily against the car the good doctor was crouching beside. After a couple breaths, Nico managed, “Looks like you saved me again, Dr. Sexy.”  
  
“I should have called the police straight off,” Shimazu tried to laugh, but was too busy staring at the two unconscious hitmen. “These aren’t the guys from the ER.”  
  
“Yeah... the less you know, the better,” Nico assured, which seemed to put some steel into the taller woman’s demeanor.  
  
“Like hell. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still my patient. My car is close and I’m off duty. Can I at least drive you to the station?”  
  
Nico’s heart almost broke. Deep dive assignments had a way of making you forget the kindness of your average non-crimey person. She actually felt some tears well as she shook her head and replied, “No… but a trip to the airport would be nice.”  


* * *

  
  
Nico laid in the back seat, covered with an adorable afghan that looked hand-knit. The good doctor seemed to carry a clinic’s worth of basic supplies behind her passenger-side seat, so Nico made sure to prevent staining either the blanket or the car in general with gratuitous bandage usage.  
  
“Drive normally. Don’t speed unless that’s what you’d normally do. Start by heading home,” Nico instructed as Shimazu wove the car through the garage, “We’ll split off about half way. I don’t want them knowing the way to your house… though after that stunt you might be in trouble either way.”  
  
“What are you talking about?”  
  
“Well, doc,” Nico began.  
  
“Rachel,” Shimazu corrected.  
  
“Well Rachel, as I’m sure you can imagine, I wasn’t entirely up front about how I ended up in your care last night.”  
  
Rachel waited to answer until she flashed her badge across the exit plate and pulled out of the hospital proper, “... am I going to have to go into witness protection or something?”  
  
“No, but something similar. Maybe.”  
  
The redhead blew out a heavy breath, “You owe me one _hell_ of a date for this. I’m talking apps, drinks, _and_ dessert.”  
  
Nico laughed, and thankfully it only hurt a lot. “I don’t suppose I can take anything for pain right now, can I?”  
  
“Sorry, not for another hour. I’m going to need gas if I’m going to make it out to the airstrip.”  
  
“That’s fine. Is there a shopping center you frequent? The idea is to look like everything is normal.”  
  
“... Yeah. Normal. You know, bleeding or not, I haven’t had anyone else in this car, front or back… well… ever.”  
  
“It must be a new car.”  
  
Rachel smiled, breaking through the clear ocean of stress, “Not really.”  
  
This was good. Keep her talking about normal life things. In an hour they’d be gears up and safely in the air. Nico prompted, “What, are there _seriously_ no other lady-lovin’ ladies in the area? You’re kind of a dreamboat.”  
  
“Easy to keep your figure with eighteen hour work days,” Rachel replied simply, “How’s a lesbian locomotive like yourself getting chased around by insane guys with guns?”  
  
“Try bisexual bicycle that got left on the showroom floor,” Nico struggled to get out, “... and until I’m sure you’re safe, the less you know, the better.”  
  
Again with the nervous smile. Rachel buckled down and answered, “Mystery. Sure. That’s supposed to be attractive, right?”  
  
“Sweetness, mystery sucks and I’m sorry to do it to you.”  


* * *

  
  
The pair fell into silence. At the gas station, Nico eased into the passenger seat and leaned it back as far as possible. Once they were on the road again, she used the vanity mirror to keep tabs on the cars behind them, once more moved as the brave redhead held her hand reassuringly.  
  
She diverted from her standard path and started a beeline for the airport. It was getting very late, or early if you preferred. Little to no traffic… and by proxy almost no capacity to determine what vehicles were around them from the wooded 6-lane and only headlights to work with.  
  
The lack of personalization in the car was, in itself noteworthy. The only real decorations were fast food bags and a long-dead cinnamon air freshener. Rachel kept the radio off, citing the preference of monitoring her patient via breathing patterns. They made it three exits from the airport before the car behind turned off their headlights.  
  
“Is that bad?” Rachel asked in a voice raw with anxiety.  
  
“Yeah, that’s pretty bad. Gun it,” Nico ordered, grimacing as she drew her confiscated guns, “Get in the fast lane.”  
  
“There’s another car already there! Why are their lights off!?”  
  
“Get down!” Nico yelled as fire spat at the doctor’s car from both sides, “Breaks! _Breaks!!”_  
  
“I’m breaking!” Rachel shouted back, ducking low… but as soon as the car started to slow, the vehicle was slammed from behind, setting off all of vehicle’s airbags and shoving the off-balanced doctor back into her seat as the windows and windshield splintered and cracked around them.  
  
Nico fired through both forward airbags, immediately regretting it as the rear windshield was continually punched through by bullets that would have done the job for her. “Gun it again!”  
  
“Make up your mind!” Rachel screamed, clearly crying as the car behind continued to shove them forward, “You know what… fuck this!”  
  
Tears streaming down her face, Rachel sniffed, sat up straight, and veered full-speed into the slow lane’s shoulder, “ _Give me one of those!_ ”  
  
“What!?” Nico yelled back in shock, but didn’t fight as the redhead plucked the gun from her hand, a crappy revolver, wove back into the middle lane, checked the piece’s remaining ammo, while keeping her head low, and reached out in-between the five-round bursts to pop the fast-lane flanking vehicle’s front tire. At the speed they were still managing, it immediately slammed into the vehicle behind them.  
  
Nico stared in shock as the woman, tears still streaming, wiped her eyes and sat up straight enough to aim through the rear-windshield. She veered into the fast lane and popped twice. The slow lane flanker fell behind. She cried harder and dropped the firearm on Nico’s lap.  
  
“Rachel…”  
  
The doctor interrupted Nico with a deep sniff. She wiped her eyes again and corrected, “Maki. My _name_ … is Maki… and I’m willing to bet Lexy isn’t _your_ real name either. I liked it though… it was cute.”  
  
“Nico,” Nico revealed, checking her rear-view mirror to confirm they’d escaped for the moment.  
  
“Okay,” Maki sniffed again, “That’s… pretty cute too. Why are the Caldwells after you?”  
  
Immediate edge. Nico gripped her firearm a little tighter as she counter-asked, “How do you even _know_ about the Caldwell Group?”  
  
“Five years ago they ended my career,” Maki sniffed, “... mostly. I’ve been ‘on call’, dropped off in the area for observation ever since.”  
  
Nico’s eyes widened as the name clicked, “You’re Maki Nishikino.”  
  
The look the doctor gave her was _heartbreaking_ . “They really _didn’t_ stop recruiting kids, did they?”  
  
Nico deadpanned, “I’m thirty-two years old. _You’re_ the kid here.”  
  
“Oh,” Maki answered awkwardly, “Sorry. You… uh… take good care of yourself.”  
  
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Like the card.”  
  
“... Right. Well now, I’m embarrassed.”  
  
“Don’t be,” Nico remarked offhandedly, relieved at the lack of blockade at the airport exit.  
  
“... the agency’s emergency airlift is still in Hanger N-3, right?”  
  
“Yeah… you have a cell I can borrow?”  
  
Wordlessly, Maki thumb-unlocked her phone and handed it over. Her background was a much younger shot of herself hugging a cat.  
  
Nico dialed up her extraction contact and held the phone to her ear. After a moment, she input a seven-digit code and resumed waiting.  
  
“How did you get this number?” came a hostile greeting.  
  
“This is agent oh-two-five. I need immediate extraction and am less than a mile away from the hanger. I just shook off hostiles. I have mission critical information and I need debriefed _immediately_ .”  
  
Nico’s already wired nerves froze as her contact spoke quietly, “Agent Nii-Go, you are calling from the device of a known renegade unit. Foxhound’s deserter, Red-Alpha. Is she in the vehicle with you?”  
  
“I’ve got a civvie with me. She’s going to require protection as she was spotted in my company and I’d like to avoid casualties. I owe her one.”  
  
“Understood. Be advised that Red-Alpha is _highly dangerous_ . She’s a known operative of the Hand of µ's and we absolutely _must_ take her alive. The information she has regarding the A-RISE Project could save thousands. This _could_ end up being more important than your work on the Caldwell case.”  
  
“Sure thing,” Nico answered, heart aching, “Which hanger again?”  
  
“C-8.”  
  
“Over and out,” Nico clipped, hanging up and staring at the two pistols on her lap. She set to emptying their remaining bullets, wiping off the prints, and chucking them out the window.  
  
“You don’t think those’ll be useful?” Maki asked, seeming to finally have come down enough to stop crying.  
  
Nico took her hand and squeezed it, “Maki… slow down a bit. We need to talk.”  


* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

 

Ooooooooooooooh!!!!  
Will Nico defect!?  
How much was Maki faking?!  
Which agency is the good one!?!?

How long could they hold out before exacerbating Nico’s wounds further!?  
  
… that last one is a trick question. Maki is a professional and would take _great_ care not to bring her patient unnecessary pain or stress.

 

Thanks for reading!! <3


	11. Mermaid

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 11 - Mermaid**

 

Summer vacation on the beach!  
  
The third Nico had gotten to enjoy with her long-time squeeze/best friend/fellow idol. This summer, Maki’s last in high school, promised to be a  _very_ important one. It was the first time they’d made plans this extravagant on their own. Beach-side ryokan. A _really_ nice one. Completely apart of any of her family’s connections.   
  
It had taken some work to work a week off in the middle of the concert season, but apparently dropping hints that it was for snuggle time alone with her oft-rumored other half actually led to petitions of cities volunteering to postpone their show for later. Cute, not how that sort of thing really worked, but the PR was  _incredible._  
  
_Oh,_ and there had been some cuddling. Grade-A, ‘behind-the-glass in the A/C that blasted so hard they actually had gotten under blankets in the middle of summer’ level cuddling. That was the neat thing about this Ryokan. It offered a lot to late-night patrons who preferred to avoid the sun and other people. Individualized salt-water ‘onsen’ in each of the rooms. Half inside, half outside on the balcony. Intermediary rooms where your food service would be delivered. Retractable ramps leading from each room’s balcony to the beach.   
  
Best of all, the ocean surrounding the beach had safety ‘nets’ that prevented the local wildlife from being a concern. Most of the guests seemed to be normal, preferring the sunlight… but thankfully, Maki seemed content and even relieved that she preferred sleeping in incredibly late, lazing around the room for most of the sunlight hours, and hitting the beach once it was mostly illuminated by lamps that set a  _lovely_ mood. A complexion  _this_ perfect couldn’t risk freckles!... Though… Maki had developed a few that were  _marvelous._  
  
That wasn’t the only change that reaching the tail end of her adolescence had brought Maki. Thanks to Rin’s insistence on including the studious redhead in every athletic venture she could, she’d maintained the build her first year had developed. She’d stretched, filled, and cut her hair  _surprisingly_ short. The latter happened mere days before their trip and while not being Rin-short, it was fairly close.   
  
Also gone was the hesitation to pursue exactly what she wanted… which brought Nico great relief. Now, when Maki protested, you could be fairly certain it wasn’t against her own interests. The girls had clearly continued Nico’s good work on wearing down Maki’s self-defeating qualities. Part of what likely led to this wonderful outing.   
  
The only oddity was that Maki  _still_ had her hang-up about the water.   
  
Despite always protesting that her swimming skills were superb, Maki almost  _never_ went into water that more than ankle deep. Doctor excuses for swim class (wonder where she got those…), books to read under umbrellas, impressive judo counters to Rin’s constant attempts to shove her into the pool. The only exception had been the mermaid shoot, where she took enough offense to the teasing that she backed up her words once and for all. She swam  _circles_ around the others. If Nico was being honest, it was that rare glimpse of Maki’s confident smile and carefree laughter that  _really_ hooked her.   
  
It was a good memory… but one Nico rarely revisited. Why focus on past moments when you’re constantly making amazing new ones?   
  
Now, more than that happy moment, it was the countless other instances of avoidance and unexplained deferrals that came to mind. They were lounging, towels slack and basking in the afterglow of some… enthusiastic ‘snuggling.’ Maki was pouting because Nico was crawling out of her lap and suggesting, “Hey hey, let’s go soak for a little.”   
  
Maki laid back and rolled onto her front to watch Nico walk. The expression was  _really_ flattering. She loved the way Maki looked at her… but that was a clear attempt to bribe her into coming back. Maki drawled, “... but I was comfortable with you here.”   
  
“So come be comfy with me in the water~” Nico tempted in return, keeping her back turned as she let the towel drop to just hip level.   
  
Maki groaned and rolled over again, “That’s playing dirty.”   
  
“Uh huh,” Nico winked and flashed a Nico-Nii, “... and you just  _happening_ to leave yours on the floor is totally fair play. Get up here.”   
  
One of the best parts of a heated salt water onsen was the sanitation aspect. Maki had really pushed that as a selling point, which was fair. Nico couldn’t risk getting sick during this trip. Not with concerts recommencing immediately after. A small personal pool that didn’t stink of chlorine was just… wonderful. Slipping into the water and watching the stars start to come out through the onsen’s separation window was…  _really_ nice.   
  
“Do you want me to bring you a drink?” Maki offered, seeming to give in, “Tea, water... beer?”   
  
Nico stuck her tongue out at her girl. She’d been teasing her about not liking beer after having bragged up and down that she could finally drink it the whole trip. Strangely, it was one of the  _only_ things she’d pushed her old tsun charm through with. Not much tsun… glorious amounts of dere.   
  
“Just my Maki, please.”   
  
She brought an Aquarius for herself and sat on the pool’s lip. She carefully dipped her feet in to rest them on Nico’s lap and watched her as she drank.   
  
“Really? Get down here.”   
  
She capped her drink and leaned forward. So… distracting. Maki answered, “I like the view from here.”   
  
“It’d be hard to hold your hand from here.”   
  
Definitely dere. Instead of blush, Nico got a smile.   
  
“... Nico…”   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
“... do you love me?”   
  
Nico’s smile dropped. There was a lot of hesitation there… they were about to have a moment. “Maki… usually this is where I’d pick on you about your memory since I was  _just_ telling you I did over and over like… ten minutes ago… but this feels like a very serious question.”   
  
“It is.”   
  
“So here is your Very Serious, Official Yazawa Nico answer. All this? This isn’t a game for me. This isn’t some… passive fling. I always imagined it was the same with you, but for me? This is super exclusive. Nico doesn’t kiss who she isn’t wild about… and the rest?”   
  
“Say it,” Maki interrupted, leaning in, “You always talk  _about_ it… but I want you to say it.”   
  
Nico blinked. Huh. She  _did_ always dance around the specific words. Rather than immediately fulfill Maki’s song request, Nico scooted in to hug onto Maki’s legs, “... Before I do, where are you going with this?”   
  
“... I’ve been taking for granted the idea that you feel the same for me as I do you,” Maki answered, brushing Nico’s bangs to the side, “... and that’s not fair to either of us.”   
  
Nico could only watch as Maki reached in to trace the lines of her face. Deadlock stare. “I… think of us in the long term. I know you’re going to want to make a joke out of this… but don’t. I have been… irrevocably in love with you for some time now. I can’t see a future without you.”   
  
Nico swallowed down the lighthearted quips that rose to her lips. Instead, the words, “Maki-chan, this sounds like you’re leading up to a proposal,” slipped out.   
  
Her expression softened even more, “I’m not out of school yet… but when I am, you’d better watch out.”   
  
Nico’s eyes widened. Maki’s narrowed confidently, “But… like I said. Assuming that you feel the same isn’t fair to either of us. I’m not saying you take any of this lightly… but… is that how you think of me?”   
  
Nico leaned back. She couldn’t take her eyes away. Nico responded carefully, “I… don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the future. There’s always so much to take in right now.”   
  
Maki was still smiling, so Nico continued, “... but the thought of a future without you makes me… very… very sad.”   
  
Maki leaned in. Nico lifted her head. They held the kiss for some time… and when they parted the stars were full in the sky. Maki sighed, sounding relieved and tense at the same time.   
  
“Come with me.”  


* * *

  
  
The two held hands, the waves crashing at their feet. The air was still warm, but not oppressive. The cool of the ocean was welcome, but not biting. Nico was glad to be able to finally get her girlfriend into her swimsuit, but the weight of their conversation still weighed heavily enough for her not to feel comfortable bragging about it.   
  
They crossed out of sight of the ryokan. Trees blocked the light and soon there was just the waxing moon and the stars. They continued a little longer, reaching close to the edge of the fenced in portion of the beach before Maki stopped and took her other hand.   
  
Nico’s heart was pounding. For as much intimacy as they’d shared this weekend, this simple act felt raw. Intense. The mood was charged enough that when Maki asked, “I’m sorry I’m being weird about this… but… what do you think of a future…  _with_ me?” Nico could only think of one way to respond.   
  
“The reason I haven’t thought about it is because I guess I’ve been taking it for granted too. I can’t really… imagine a future without Maki-chan. Right now? If you asked me to spend the rest of my life with you… I’d say yes.”   
  
Both of them had trouble with teary eyes. Maki sniffed and pulled back, “I… that works for me. Well then… close your eyes.”   
  
Nico did the opposite. Shock rooted her in place. The vacation. The special locale. Was… was this…   
  
“Please?” Maki prompted.   
  
Nico swallowed. Nodded. Closed her eyes.   
  
“Thank you,” Maki answered, “Hold out your hands.”   
  
Relief. Not the standard practice for popping a ring  _or_ the question. Nico went along with it, feeling enough relief to finally recognize how saturated with romance her heart was. More and more the previous conversation sank in. She hadn’t been  _nervous_ or anything about their status, but this even further cemented the girl’s position as a cornerstone of her life. She just felt…  _so_ loved… and in love… and… … what did Maki just put in her hands?   
  
Nico rolled the… fabric in her hand. She pursed her lips. Did she… bring a change of… no… wait… this was…   
  
“Maki-chan?”   
  
“Open them.”   
  
Nico looked down. Maki’s bikini bottoms were in her hands. She stared and swallowed, “Maki-chan… if you wanted to do something like this, we could have done it in the room.”   
  
“Look at me, you idiot,” Maki laughed. Confident. Happy. In love.   
  
Nico turned… and stared. Gleaming… brilliant red scales. Curled into the sea foam where Maki’s legs should have been… a tail. Fins. Her legs were… Maki was… blushing. Smiling. In love.   
  
“Oh wow,” Nico only barely managed as Maki’s laughter rang out and she splashed at her.   
  
“Come swim with me,” she offered…   
  
… and Nico accepted.

 

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

  
  
So much unmitigated sap. I'd be happy watching these two be sappy all day long. Surprised this ended up being so short, but it's a nice change given that we had company today.  
  
BUT, Nico was terrible and I had to cut it off there. Sure, I could have just left this as is, but... she was just being  _so_  bad that couldn't help but share.  
I should be sorry… but I’m not. 

 

* * *

 **Gag Reel:**  

****  
Nico sat in the room’s pool, straddling Maki’s tail. She scooted a little and leaned back into her very happy girlfriend, commenting, “Our place is going to have to have one of these.”  
  
“I’m so glad it doesn’t freak you out,” Maki admitted, nuzzling into Nico’s shoulder.   
  
“This texture is like… the  _best_ for riding. With you being a girl, I figured cowgirl was just out of the question for us.”   
  
“... get off.”   
  
“Already did~!”   


* * *

  
  
Nico sat in the room’s pool, straddling Maki’s tail. She scooted a little and leaned back into her very happy girlfriend, commenting, “So… how does this thing work?”   
  
Maki churned the waters with the lazy passes of her tail as she answered, “Same way you’d move your legs. Just a little more flexible.”   
  
“No no, not that. Do you… like… shoot roe once a month or something?”   
  
Horrified, Maki’s expression twisted and she pulled back, “ _What!?”_  
  
“You know, instead of a period. Oh man… is it like… edible?”   
  
The redhead’s face went pale, “  _ **WHAT!?**_ ”   
  
“I’m just sayin’. That could be kind of wild. I wouldn’t say no to a Maki ro-,” Nico began, but was launched through the ceiling be a  _very_ irate Maki as she flipped her into lower earth orbit. 

 


	12. Royalty

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 12 - Royalty**

 

 **Excerpt from the Diary of Princess Nishikino Maki II - Volume 16** **  
****08/12**  
  
“Once a month, in the interest of remaining connected with the local populace, Mama and Papa go out and ride throughout the Capital in a great parade. I would always watch through the window until they fell out of sight, but would continue my studies, as they were, where I could listen to the procession. The castle would become very quiet anyway… as most of the guard would remain at my parent’s side.  
  
Upon their return, they would discuss what they saw, offering rewards to the social services that performed adequately and assigning assistance to the parts of town which were falling into disrepair. Throughout my studies in the time since I’d become aware of these proceedings, I’ve read of numerous instances of royalty that did nothing to earn the respect or loyalty of the populace.  
  
… Mama and Papa are _excellent_ rulers. I’m very proud to be their daughter… and proud of the kingdom I lived in. I almost never hear of ne'er do-wells or of incidents of crime. When your people are in want of naught, they have no need to resort to misdeeds to compensate.  
  
On my fourth year, in part due to public request, my parents offered for me to accompany them on their monthly routine. Needless to say, I was overjoyed. I had never seen much of the outside of the castle, and the world always sounded so lively. I could not have underestimated the scope and scale of our grand Capital more. Such a tremendous variety of people, styles of clothing, livelihoods and stations. By my fifth year, I had not only become acquainted with the layout of our capitol’s Capital, but with many of the individuals living among its number.  
  
So it was, that on one fateful July, that I did spot one of my favorite faces among the lower levels. Gone was her charming smile and bright eyes, replaced with tears and ruddy cheeks. She had not even come out to witness the procession, as she always had. Instead I had taken notice of her through a window. She and her mother wore garments of mourning… and her father was nowhere to be seen.  
  
As the day of the monthly procession was a holiday, I knew for certain in an instant what had taken place… and what had taken the smile from my secret delight. So, with the simple innocence that one might expect of my younger self, I, who frequently sat behind my parents, left behind my tiara, mantle, and orb, slipped from the carriage and stepped into an alley as simply as if it were the curtains in my mother’s chamber.  
  
The guard, who seemed to draw more cheers from the boys than my parents and played up their celebrity with antics they had previously brought me to tears with how much I’d laughed, passed on and the crowd followed, affording me my chance.  
  
I had never before interacted with the citizens aside of waving when called upon… and my smiling ruby-eyed treasure _always_ called to me. To her I felt a keen sense of camaraderie which now, as a girl of sixteen years, I recognize to be utterly ridiculous. Still, with such sparse contact and interaction, perhaps I was a bit starved for that admiration she always afforded me.  
  
In another moment which almost pains me to look back upon for my naivete, I marched straight to her family’s household’s door and did beat upon it with a fervor. The crowd which remained had made way, staring with wide eyes as, again, I had not the means to acknowledge that my garments were still clearly my own.  
  
Bewildered they looked on as the girl I sought’s mother opened the door, with the treasure herself under her wing. I can still hear the befuddled gasps as I barged into the poor woman’s house, wrapped my arms around the wide-eyed girl, and offered my deepest condolences. Within moments, we the both of us were clinging to one another in that entryway, sobbing. Her for her Father and the surprise source of comfort, and myself for the overwhelming sympathy I felt at the sight of her contorted face.  
  
… Looking back at all that has happened since, I can not feel remorse for my actions then, but in the short term, I felt _atrocious_. The alarm sounded almost immediately afterward. The guard rushed back, finding me swiftly as the citizenry proved their loyalty. I was inconsolable… and as the woman who mothered my treasure tried to explain, my parents arrived and all became silent save for our tears.  
  
In opposition to this alignment of shame, I felt no remorse in the moment at pleading for this girl, and her’s, be welcomed into our home. So incomprehensible was her loss, that I begged as if it were myself who had lost my own Papa. The woman whose name I now know to be Yoriko pleaded for forgiveness for both herself and her daughter, but again I insisted that none of the fault was their own.  
  
Papa… my father, the King, is a man of strange humor. In this moment he saw fit to laugh and assured me that they would indeed be welcomed. When I asked if the girl whose name I did not even know could ride at my side, Mama, my mother the Queen, joined in with this bizarre merriment.  
  
So, with great confusion to the rest of the Capital, my parents did appear to have a new daughter whose age superseded their first by two full years.  
  
Despite all that has come since… it is a memory I cherish more than most. I lament not recording it sooner… so that I could relive it in moment by moment clarity. Despite the hesitance to put it to paper, no time can degrade the pleasure, the unfettered joy of seeing that bright smile shine again, joining me in waving for the entire procession.  
  
The shame, which I previously alluded to… would not come for some time. Preceding its weight was the welcoming of the girl’s entire remaining family into my home, the Capitol. My treasure, whose name I now know to be Nico, first daughter in the latest line of Yazawa, took immediate occupation as my vassal. A title in name only, aside of the privileges she immediately gained including access to my surroundings and a license on her spirited tongue. A sharp one at that.  
  
In addition to Nico and her mother, she had two _very_ young sisters and another sibling on the way who would become a brother. While it made my parents’ advisors uncomfortable, I treated them all as the siblings I’d never had. My mother’s condition proved to be inhospitable to additional children of royal blood, so I had assumed that there would be no such opportunities in the future. For reasons I did not consider for most of my life until now… I did not treat Nico the same.  
  
Once she became aware of the fact that she was not only safe and welcome in the castle, but also had protections on spoken opinion on par with the court’s comedy, Nico and I fought as much as we played. She had opinions on _everything!_ She frequently seemed appalled by the conceptions and assumptions of the court… and it took me years before I came to understand why her opinion was so valued by my parents and doted upon by the court’s mage and jester.  
  
Again, I can not stress how proud I am of my lineage. My parents are truly deserving of their divine position. Their patience and wisdom is the clearest evidence of predestined right to rule.  
  
I fear I may not be so deserving.  
  
I fall off track of the intended history I’d hoped to scribe this night, but my heart is too heavy to continue such an illusion. The matter of my heart and the weights upon it is what I’d hoped to lead this record toward.  
  
In the years since, my treasure became my friend. Dear to my heart as she is frustrating to my countenance. I freely admit that no one vexes me quite as severely as Nico Yazawa. For as flighty as she can be and taken with the bards of recent fashion, she continues to show a continually cutting wit. It is as if she holds her wisdom to her chest, waiting until the precise moment in which best to mock me or show my inferiority.  
  
As previous records will recount, I have no problem identifying that on my own.  
  
For as many times as she has brought me turmoil, a far deeper and more frequent happenstance in recent days, I can not imagine even the concept of comfort should her presence disappear from my life.  
  
One month ago, Nico commented upon a desire to travel the kingdom and beyond. With her education and training, she would most certainly fare well and with confidence on any travel. Her purpose would be of assessment and development of the self. There would also be vague records akin to our monthly promenade… but this venture would traverse far more than a day.  
  
I fear I could not bear the three years her concourse would require.  
  
For every moment of contested will and opinion, there are ten and twenty that have encouraged, enlightened, and inspired me. ~~Her voice and opinions are as much my bread as breathing is my water~~. ~~No bard in our employ has played a song that is half of what music her voice is to me~~. She is important to my daily routine. Her perspective is integral if I am to become half of what my parents have proven to be.  
  
My lineage preceding is full of noble intention. Wisdom and prosperity. The occasional sacrifice. I can not bear the thought of sacrificing a week without her, let alone three years.  
  
In re-reading my words, I can recognize my cowardice. I dance around this issue as surely as she dances with Rin, the Jester’s daughter. Even here in my private recordings I hesitate to address that which I sat here specifically to address. How am I to confide to her that which I can not say to myself? I could fill a volume with my hesitation and still come no closer to the point.  
  
Plainly then. I fear for my lineage to follow. A line unbroken since the dawn of life. I fear its shattering not for any physical ailment or maladjustment. I fear entirely due to my selfish obstinacy. No matter how much I try, I can not abide the thought of a marriage. I do not dream of princes or suitors. Regardless of royal obligation or political application, I can not convince my heart upon any other. Where my heart refuses, I have been inspired to do so also with the rest.  
  
Does she know the advice she gives? Can she understand in this disastrously powerful persuasion she has convinced my very soul to give up a record of rule reaching back before records were kept?  
  
I will tell her tonight. She can cast me the fool. I will rail against her with all the vigor we have been known to muster upon one another. I will force her to break this heart so that, in time, it can be mended anew.  
  
Better to have it broken by her hands than by the whole of the kingdom upon offering the suggestion of two queens.”

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

Overdramatic Princess Maki.  
Oop, wait. Hold on. Got another entry here.  


* * *

**Excerpt from the Diary of Princess Nishikino Maki II - Volume 16** **  
** **08/13**  
  
That did not go as expected.  
  
I am, of course, elated… but now I fear I have an entirely new problem.  
  
A multitude, in fact.  
  
I’m fairly certain that everyone heard us. I have received no less than fifteen congratulations, twelve compliments of apparent prowess due to volume and frequency, five well-wishes of a happy marriage, and a deeply uncomfortable knowing smile from my mother.  
  
Papa was blushing too much to say anything.  
  
I do not know if I will die of embarrassment or happiness first.  
  
I would discuss this more, but I appear to have company.  


* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

  
Yeah... That sounds about right.


	13. Fake Dating

**AU Yeah NicoMaki 13 - Fake Dating**

* * *

 

Maki glared at her once fellow idol. It took every ounce of her self control to keep from visually reacting further at the suggestion, unsure if this was a joke or a legitimate proposal.  
  
“Come _on!_ ” Nico urged, doubling down as Cotaro waddled past in the video-chat’s background, “We’ll keep things _really_ ambiguous! Just gals bein’ pals! Just like we used to!”  
  
Her glare completely skipped glower and plummeted straight into the scowl range. “You’re being serious right now, aren’t you?”  
  
“Nico is _always_ serious when it comes to her career! Besides! This could really help chip away at the whole love ban idea! I _know_ you hate that, so let’s stick it to them!”  
  
“You realize that by _pretending_ to date in an ambiguous way, all you’re doing is pandering to fanservice… _not_ undermining harmful industry standards,” Maki drawled, poking the nose of the Nico on her display.  
  
“Baby steps!”  
  
“Baby steps that just happen to give you another boost in appeal,” Maki grumbled.  
  
“Exactly! Nicomaki was _easily_ the only _µ_ 's ship that could stand toe-to-toe with NozoEli!”  
  
“ _They_ actually ended up together,” Maki growled, knowing that even something _this_ blatant wouldn’t be enough of a hint for her bone-headed forever-crush.  
  
“Right? They’ve been out of the game for almost a year now and they’re _still_ getting magazine spreads dedicated to their relationship.”  
  
Maki carefully thumped her forehead against the desk. Frustration warred with hope as Maki grumbled, “Because they _actually_ did it.”  
  
“Everyone would think we were!” Nico reiterated, “Come on, I _know_ you miss your Nico!”  
  
“... the hell gives you that idea?”  
  
Sugar dropped and sardonic applied, Nico answered, “‘cause you haven’t hung up on me yet. Come on. I’m not going to do anything to risk your fancy-pants hospital royalty arranged thingamajig with Ryota the fifty-fifth or whatever his stupid name is. Seriously. Just a few pancake dates. Maybe an amusement park or two. I _know_ you’ve been all work and no play ever since you traded bow colors.”  
  
Maki lifted her head again, half-intending to cut the call immediately. Instead, again with the weakness, “How would _you_ know something like that?”  
  
“Because the two better halves of your year’s trio keep me in the loop.”  
  
Maki shot a withering look, “If they’re the two “better halves,” then what does that make me?”  
  
“ _Mine_ ,” Nico smirked, “So how about it? You, me, crepes plus a little hand-holding in public?”  
  
For as much as Maki referred to it as weakness, it certainly yanked her heart around with some serious strength. She had to lower her head again to keep her sudden unreliable expression under wraps. She _would_ have to mention the crepes.  
  
Instead of the intended ‘cruel,’ ‘unfair,’ or even the old reliable mainstay, ‘idiot,’ Maki grumbled, “You are so annoying… _fine_ …”  
  
“Hee hee! I _knew_ I could count on you. I’m _sure_ you remember how to act in front of a camera.”  
  
“Yeah… whatever… when and where do you need me?”  


* * *

 

The first outing was a casual success. A simple appearance strolling down Aki’s main drag. They stopped for taiyaki, chatted for a little outside by the shop. Real conversation and catch-up, since their schedules hadn’t aligned properly in months. For a moment, Maki had actually forgotten that this in any way staged.  
  
They meandered down the street further for crepes. Maki’s came out first which Nico made sure to get a mouthful of… totally normal for them. Somehow, though... there was _just_ enough theatrics to it that reminded Maki that these sentimentally significant moments were entirely for the three photographers that seemed to think they were being discreet.  
  
Fortunately, Maki was a professional. She didn’t drop character for a moment. Not until they’d parted ways, hands lingering in one another’s, and Maki had scaled the stairs by Kanda Myojin (a place she frequently now avoided) that she let her smile drop.  
  
Nozomi wasn’t there. She hadn’t been in some time. Nico never volunteered there anymore either… for obvious reasons. Still, Maki went through the motions, approached the bell, tossed an offering and prayed for strength to endure and, more importantly, for this to help as much as Nico seemed to think it would.  
  
If it did… then all this turmoil she was busy internalizing would be worth it.  


* * *

  
  
The second outing was a roaring success… for the press. For Maki’s heart, not so much. Nico’s theatrics were _far_ more pronounced, so Maki’s own had to step up to keep pace. Crepes in Harajuku. Pancakes by the station. A trip to Meiji Jingu, hand in hand. Maki dropped the extra for an ema which she scrawled a legitimately heartfelt wish for Nico’s dreams to continue coming true. Nico answered with one of her own, adorned with hearts and glitter ink for Maki’s life to be filled with happiness and love.  
  
They got matching charms. Nico clung to her arm on the long walk back. The sky was clear, a band was playing a sappy love song at the bridge connecting the shrine’s walkway to the rest of Harajuku. They parted at the station, Nico leaning in to feign a kiss on the cheek to whisper, “Good work today. You really are the best,” and disappear on the train heading toward her dorm.  
  
Maki made it all the way to the Aki station and halfway home before she cried over it.  


* * *

 

Before the next outing was another meet-up with her parents and _his_ parents. He never spoke much. Their parents always had too much to say. Any time she looked his way, she would catch him looking away. Maki had enough presence of mind and adherence to decorum that she managed a pleasant demeanor… but the whole evening was a tense nightmare.  
  
She hated this.  


* * *

  
  
The third outing was cosplay down Otome Road in Ikebukuro. The park across from the line of fandom stores was a frequent stop for cosplayers to gather, so Maki got to play photographer as Nico played up the similarity in appearance she had with the secondary romantic interest of some popular show from the latest season. There were other cosplayers there as well who not only recognized her character, but the idol herself.  
  
So many pictures. So much playful flirtation with fans. So many teasing questions. _So_ many autographs… which Maki got to participate in as well. For some reason, almost everyone there wanted pictures of the two of them together. It was the hardest Maki had ever needed to push to keep the illusion of her character rolling.  
  
It must have showed. As they left the park, Nico snuggled in and asked if Maki was _sure_ she was okay to continue. She was empowered by the concern in Nico’s voice, so they moved on to Sunshine City. They hit up the Pokemon cafe and made certain to purchase merchandise for Cotaro and the girls, did a little clothes shopping, and came away with a pair of earrings that they split between them.  
  
Unlike the other meetups, this didn’t end with the feigned date. Nico accompanied Maki on the train back to Aki. She was going home with the gifts… plus, Maki supposed, this _was_ the third date. There was supposed to be something about kissing that shouldn’t happen before then.  
  
Best not to get her hopes up though.  
  
“Nico-onee-sama!?” Cocoro exclaimed as the idol/sister in question made her arrival.  
  
“I’m _back_ baby!” Nico proclaimed, “... and I brought Maki!~”  
  
The kids were already barreling forward, with their mother peeking around the corner curiously. The three shocked the two as they completely bypassed hugging onto their big sister to create an adorable wall between.  
  
“We won’t let you take Nico-onee!” Cocoa announced.  
  
“Think of her career!” Cocoro angrily huffed.  
  
“No dating,” Cotaro lethargically added.  
  
Maki stared at the three, honestly feeling a little betrayed before Nico burst out laughing hard enough that she fell over. She twisted the knife a little deeper by assuring them it was all an act, that she was fairly certain Maki wouldn’t consider the _concept_ of dating had she not dragged her into it, and that Maki was doing _her_ a huge favor by doing all this.  
  
The trio’s affection returned. The pearl no longer felt comfortable in her ear. Nico’s mother asked for a word, but Maki excused herself for another day.  


* * *

  
  
The fourth outing was more of an appearance than an actual interaction. A concert. An exclusive live. Maki was seen entering the building. She watched the show from backstage, close enough to the stage itself to be spotted by discerning eyes. Nico wrapped by jumping into her arms and being spun the rest of the way off-stage.  
  
Just like every other time, Maki couldn’t help but get swept up in the moment… and feel the crash immediately after as she left for after-show obligations.  
  
It was working.  
  
It really was.  
  
All the way home her feed was flooded with people noticing, commenting, raving. A direct message with a kissy-faced selfie re-bestowing the oft-spoken title of best. A lonely segregated back-seat for her ride home.  
  
Her phone buzzed again.  
  
**Love.Arrow.Sonoda:** We need to talk.  


* * *

  
  
“What are you _doing!?_ ”  
  
Umi was pacing. She looked livid as she crossed back and forth while Maki sat on the older girl’s bed. Maki didn’t get a chance to reply.  
  
“What is _she_ doing!?”  
  
“She’s doing what it takes to stay in the spotlight,” Maki finally answered, albeit fare more quietly than was her norm, “It’s a way I can help her.”  
  
“Oh no, you do _not_ act like this isn’t a big deal,” Umi growled, pulling back her hair and tying it in place, “Does she even _realize_ what she’s doing?”  
  
“... I haven’t told her if that’s what you mean.”  
  
Umi stopped, her expression pained, “... you shouldn’t have to.”  
  
“We’re not like you and Kotori,” Maki answered distantly. The waters receded. The shore expanded. She felt mercifully numb.  
  
“That much is very clear,” Umi answered, eyeing Maki carefully, “So she has no idea.”  
  
“I don’t think she does,” Maki answered, even quieter. She felt very tired. “It’s not like she’s cruel. She’d probably be horrified if she knew.”  
  
“You believe she’d not be amenable?” Umi suggested, “This _is_ Nico we’re talking about… and _you_ being the other half.”  
  
The tide began to swell. Too hard. Too fast. “You shouldn’t word it like that.”  
  
“Why shouldn’t I? If she is going to capitalize on the idea of the two of you… she should at _least_ give you the courtesy of providing an emotional payoff.”  
  
The quiet was replaced with the surge. Charged, Maki bit back, “... and if she doesn’t? Shouldn’t just pretending be enough? If that’s all I’m going to get I _can’t_ lose that too…”  
  
“Maki,” Umi chided, “Listen to yourself!”  
  
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t say any more because the wave had crashed and now she was too busy cleaning it off her cheeks.  


* * *

  
The fifth outing was canceled.  
  
A surprise option arrived. An exclusive interview that superceded a clandestinely planned rendezvous. Fair. Understandable. Rescheduled. Repeated for a sixth and seventh occurrence.  
  
Grades were slipping. Papa was concerned. Mama was keeping quiet about the articles Maki saw her reading. Another meeting with the Fushikagus and their son Ryota with less suggestion and stronger urging. Another fake date, only this time without Nico. Without him knowing how fake it was. He was bolder and pushier than expected… and ended up following through with what Maki had hoped Nico would on their third.  
  
The seventh cancellation became an eighth and Umi _demanded_ she take a stand. Maki felt so miserable that she couldn’t argue any longer.  
  
If Nico wanted her additional fame, Maki would help her get it.  


* * *

  
  
“You _know_ she’s never going to be able to return your feelings,” Hanayo warned, her voice more severe than Maki had ever heard when rice hadn’t been involved, “It was unfair of you to even ask her to.”  
  
“I know… ,” Maki replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She curled smaller, wanting to hide her face behind her knees just in case she lost control of the threatening tears, “... and I didn’t _mean_ to. It just… it just slipped out.”  
  
“Don’t be so hard on Maki-chan, Kayo-chin,” Rin sighed, crouching across from the pair by the fence, “You know she wasn’t _trying_ to make things difficult.”  
  
The wind picked up as if called by the girl’s admonition, biting chill that would have normally been chased away by the burn of practice. It felt weird to be up here again without that energy. “She’s right though,” Maki groaned, pulling at her red hair and grinding her teeth, “Nico-chan is out there giving it her all. She’s _succeeding._ She… just looked so happy that I forgot myself for a moment is all.”  
  
A few steadying breaths. Wipe away the evidence. Glance at Kayo’s still disapproving glare and pretend you saw nothing. Look instead to Rin. _She_ got it. _She_ never had to pretend.  
  
“Even if she could… even if she _would_. Would _you?_ ” Rin asked. Pointed. Merciless. Totally unexpected. She pressed on, “What would you do if Nico did that to _you?_ What would you tell your parents? Would you just call things off with Ryota?”  
  
“ _Screw Ryota_ ,” Maki spat, venom surging past her shame. Both of her friends recoiled in surprise. Unbidden flashes of firsts claimed that she told herself didn’t matter _boiled_ behind her eyes as the redhead continued, “I’d call things off with _him_ **_today_** if I could.”  
  
Now the tears were back, but this time fueled with good ol’ comfortable rage. You could always count on the heat of anger to sear away the bullshit. Maki rubbed her already raw eyes and stood, turning to Hanayo to growl, “You know what, screw this too. I _thought_ you two would be _happy_ I finally ‘got honest’ with her. _You_ get to be an idol and you get to keep _her._ "  
  
Rin’s demeanor turned hot as well. The athletic girl shot to her feet and growled, “What are you getting at?”  
  
Maki stepped into her space, glowering and balling her fists, “I’m just saying I don’t get the double standard here. You two may as well have been _born_ together. _Everyone_ assumes you’re dating and it’s not a thing that’s detracted from her popularity _in the slightest._ ”  
  
She threw her hands in the air, spun back around to Hanayo, “Nor _should_ it! Look at her! She’s _amazing!_ Just because she’s got _you_ hasn’t hurt her popularity _at all!_ _Your_ … your bond is celebrated...”  
  
The heat sputtered. Her anger just couldn’t hold on when the topic was her favorite people and how they got to openly love each other. Replacing it was more of the same dark and bitter grip at her heart over how unfair her own situation was. Pointlessly, she continued, “People _love_ you two together…”  
  
“Nico-chan built her persona around the standard,” Kayo ground out, “She’s an idol for everyone. Maybe she _wouldn’t_ have if _someone_ hadn’t waited so long.”  
  
“Possibly,” Maki relented. The fight in her just… bottoming out. No fire. No direction. “Probably. Not that that matters now.”  
  
“You’re right. It doesn’t,” Hanayo confirmed, arms crossed and seemingly too irate to make eye contact.  
  
All three of their phones dinged at once. Rin was the only one who moved to check… and after a moment she took a deep breath and turned her phone around, “... Well, it looks like you got your answer.”  
  
The empty feeling only deepened at the headline.  
**Super Idol Nico-Nii Denies Affair with Former Co-Star.** **  
****  
** “Nico’s love for all of µ's is bottomless, but everyone knows that Nico’s heart beats for everyone!”  
  
The rest of the article, coming from an single-message link sent directly from Nico, was more of the same. How someone got a picture of the confession itself, Maki having stood in line at a meet-and-greet as it had been the only means she had to see her in person, was beyond her… but there were four different angles and even a low-quality video of the event.  
  
Her first confession… the first first she got to share something related to romance with someone she actually wanted to… and this is how it goes down.  
  
A quick reply asking to talk sent immediately on the heels of the article link being sent was left unanswered. No call. No text.  
  
“We’re heading back down. You should too, Maki-chan,” Rin suggested anxiously. She never did handle silence well. Maki just stood and waited for them to leave. Slow steps to the fence and a weary plop-down. She stared through to the courtyard without seeing anything. Just staring and holding on to a phone that wasn’t going to ring.  
  
… and it didn’t.

  
Not for another twenty minutes as she leaned into the fence and waited for the world to end around her as It felt like it had been for months now. Not for another three hours as she wandered aimlessly home. Not for another five as she laid in bed and ignored texts from the remaining girls of µ's at Otonoki.  
  
She just didn’t have the energy for it.  
  


* * *

  
  
Adrift between asleep and awake, it was the opening notes to Magnetic Today that brought her shocking back to coherency.  
  
“Nico?”  
  
Frustrated, rageful, the girl answered, “Of _course_ it’s me, you idiot! What were you _thinking!?”_  
  
Beyond the point of pulling back, Maki proceeded, “I wanted to see you.”  
  
“Obviously!” Nico shouted back. The commotion of traffic filled the static in her end’s silence. Her voice strained to continue, “I know the past couple months have been bad. I know… but… Maki, why did you have to tell me like that!?”  
  
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Maki admitted quietly. Just hearing her voice, angry being one of the standards, felt like a relief.  
  
“I’m sorry about the guards,” Nico sighed, “I chewed them out as soon as they came back in.”  
  
“They were just doing their jobs,” Maki demurred. She’d never been carried anywhere like that before.  
  
“... and I’m sorry about not answering you then and there.”  
  
“That’s fine. You made your stance pretty clear with the article,” Maki answered, a little more coldly than she may have intended.  
  
“Maki… I sent that so we could be on the same page. I sent that to everyone,” she explained with a sigh, “It’s been crazy since the event ended. This is _literally_ the first moment I’ve had alone that I could have called.”  
  
Too gone to feel much of anything, Maki answered plainly, “I’m glad you did. I want to hear you say it yourself.”  
  
“Good, because I’m almost there. Get your mopey butt out of bed and get ready to open the back gate for me. I brought the car.”  
  
“... They let you drive?”  
  
“You better put a bustle under your skirt, ‘cuz I’m gonna kick your butt for that,” Nico warned. Her voice sounded both mad and happy at the same time.  
  
Because she wasn’t thinking much at all, Maki went along with the request. It would be a nice last chance to see her before her parents came home. Papa’s ominous text of ‘We need to talk. Tonight.’ was… not promising.  
  
She padded down the stairs as Nico yelled something at another driver and immediately opened the gate. The sooner she was in here, the sooner she could see her again. Maki sat at the back door and waited on the stairs. She left her shoes inside. Nico hung up so she could focus on the back-street driving… and not even three minutes later, a hot pink convertible (top up) pulled in.  
  
Maki stood.  
  
Nico opened the door.  
  
Maki walked forward.  
  
Nico slammed the door shut.  
  
Maki offered a, “Hey.”   
  
Nico barreled forward, getting two handfuls of Maki’s shirt and shaking her soundly while demanding, “Don’t you, ‘ _hey,’ me_ , Nishikino Maki!”  
  
“Sorry?”  
  
“Did you mean it?” Heated glare.  
  
“Didn’t it work? You’ve got lots of press now,” Maki avoided.  
  
“ _Did you_ ** _mean_** _it?”_ Nico insisted.  
  
“I’ve meant it since the start, idiot,” Maki softly answered.  
  
Nico’s glare narrowed. The smaller woman spun Maki around and started shoving her toward the house, “ _You_ don’t get to call _anyone_ idiot ever again, idiot!”  
  
“What are you doing?” Maki protested, reality starting to reassert itself at all the rough treatment.  
  
“I’m taking this _inside_ so I can lay some ground rules with my idiot secret girlfriend!” Nico growled as she shoved.  
  
“You never kissed me after the third date,” Maki heard herself reply, one of her most frequently thought upon disappointments regarding the entire fracas. She was refusing to latch onto the insinuation Nico just let slip. She continued to listen to herself say, “I was trying to save it for you, but that jerk took it.”  
  
Nico finished shoving her inside. She slammed the door. Kicked her shoes against the wall. Wide-eyed and furious, she jabbed a finger at Maki and exclaimed, “He took your _what?”_  
  
“First kiss,” Maki admitted.  
  
“I’ll kill ‘im later,” Nico growled, “Anything else?”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Good.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Well you tell him the rest are _mine,_ _got it?_ ” Nico scowled, her hands clawed into her shoulders.  
  
“Don’t I get any say in this?” Maki protested weakly, “Seems a little intense for playing pretend.”  
  
Nico had to take a second to compose herself. Her face was bright red and each breath was a rage-laced growl. “You wouldn’t joke like this if you knew what the last couple of days have been for me.”  
  
“I’m sorry I made things difficult for you?” Maki shot back, incredulous.  
  
“Quit apologizing for falling for me! _God_ you’re an idiot!” Nico barely managed through gritted teeth, thumping her forehead directly into Maki’s chest, “This wouldn’t even be an issue if you’d just _told_ me like a sensible girl!”  
  
“Why was it on _me!?_ You’re the one who asked _me_ out!”  
  
“ _I didn’t know you felt that way!”_ Nico argued shrilly, pulling back with balled fists.  
  
“Are you even listening to yourself!?” Maki shouted back, “How was _I_ supposed to know that _you_ felt that way!?”  
  
Nico roared, turned in place and yelled, “Who the hell says I _do!?_ ”  
  
… and all at once, reality both fully returned to Maki and shattered around her. Nico seemed to realize her words immediately, but could only watch… or so Maki assumed. She couldn’t see. Too many tears. In the place of a retaliatory shout, Maki just gasped and sobbed, standing only for another moment before sliding along the wall to the floor. She covered her face, crying harder than she remembered ever crying as Nico kept saying something to try and get her attention.  
  
Soon, Nico was pulling her forward into a hug that Maki weakly struggled against. She rocked her back and forth as she sobbed, eventually petering off enough to make out Nico’s repeated apologies. The floodgates had opened and months of suppressed frustration and sadness was practically erupting from her chest. Distantly, she made a mental note to make certain she drank enough to rehydrate later.  
  
“I am so… so sorry… I didn’t…”  
  
At last, something caused the hitching tears to subside. A break in the cycle of sorries. “You didn’t _what?”_  
  
“I didn’t mean to say… to suggest… that I didn’t.”  
  
Maki hugged her back. Go for broke. “So then tell me that you _do_.”  
  
“Idiot… I wouldn’t say the rest of your kisses were mine if I didn’t want them…”  
  
Maki pulled back, wiped her eyes viciously, and glared with red puffy cheeks, “Do better.”  
  
Nico looked a little relieved, “I want all the rest of those kisses for myself.”  
  
“Do. Better.”  
  
Nico looked put upon, “I… want to do this for real.”  
  
“ _Do. Better.”_  
  
Nico stopped. She straightened her hair. She smoothed out Maki’s. She looked her in the eyes.  
  
“I’ve wanted to make this happen since about half-way through last year. I figured when you started being around this Ryota guy, I had zero chance. Will you drop his stupid butt and go out with my stupid butt instead?”  
  
“That’s… better… but why should I?” Maki led. Nico smiled.  
  
“Because you’re head over heels for me and I’m willing to provide relief to my number one fan,” Nico Nico-niied.  
  
Maki glared.  
  
“... and I love you.”  
  
“What a coincidence,” Maki droned, though the waterworks had begun again, “I love you, too.”  
  
“So you’ll do it?”  
  
Maki sniffed, managing to maintain a level voice at last, “Let’s discuss those ground rules, first.”  
  
“Your room?”  
  
“My room.”

 

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

  
  
Maki stopped counting kisses after they passed twenty five, less than an hour from then.  
  
A little moodier than the last few, but honestly, I really-really passionately dislike this trope. I’ve read some incredible takes on it (Pretending to Pretend), but they’re just… _so_ painful. So. Very. Painful. It has double STAB against my kokoro with guaranteed crits.  
  
Also, there’s a part of this that might look familiar to some of my readers from Berserker. Your assumptions are correct.  <3


	14. Coffeeshop

**AU Yeah Nicomaki! - Coffeeshop**   
  
  
  
“Uh oh, Look out Nicocchi. Here she comes.”   
  
Nico turned from the sink to glare. First at her friend at the cashier station, then a subtler glance toward the main entrance. Genmaicha Girl, Sugar Pop, and Bad Bitch. The last of the three was the one Nozomi had pointed out. Nico had taken  _ extra _ care to avoid learning the names of customers ever since making regional manager. The constant moving around the county’s thirty-eight branches meant that her new clientele preferences to keep in mind were the smorgasbord of personalities she had to juggle from store to store.   
  
She’d been at the store Nozomi was stationed at for over a month now. Loads of wrinkles to iron out, keeping Nico on location longer than she’d been  _ anywhere _ in the past three years. Not the reasons for traveling that she’d originally hoped for, but the benefits were decent and she  _ did _ have loans to pay.

  
“Three bucks says her drink alone is over ten,” Nico casually wagered, making sure to look away from the three regulars.    
  
“It’d have to be fifteen before I’d consider it,” Nozomi shot back with a smile.   
  
Still, getting to spend so much time with Nozomi again was nice. Nico smiled at the commiseration and announced, “I’m gonna cycle the samples. Sugar Pop loves samples.”   
  
“Aww, you’re sweet.”   
  
“... looks like she brought both of them today,” Nico commented in a low voice as she passed, the three hesitating to chat before reaching the counter.   
  
Nico may have not learned their names, but Nozomi had pointed out  _ just enough _ oddities about their bizarre relationship dynamic that she couldn’t help but get in on the theorizing.   
  
Sugar and Genmaicha were  _ totally _ in a relationship. Easy to read. Easy to see. Sugar made no mistake about that and Nico  _ almost _ had to ask them to cut down on the PDA more than once. The only reason she hadn’t was because a quick read of the room showed them to be locally favored. More of a bonus than a turn-off for fellow patrons.   
  
Genmaicha and Bad Bitch (or BB in public) were friends, but both Nozomi  _ and _ Nico were pretty convinced that the latter, a smoking hot redhead with hips for days, expensive tastes, and a  _ serious _ caffeine addiction, had it  _ bad _ for the former. Whenever they came in together, Genmaicha, a perpetually chill girl with an aura that could probably even calm Eli after a bad game, had the redhead wrapped around her finger.   
  
Easy laughing, easy smiles, undivided attention, the works.   
  
How she earned her name, aside of the perpetual disinterest she seemed to show people who  _ weren’t  _ Genmaicha, came from her reactions toward Sugar Pop. Sugar, a tomboy that seemed to define the concept of ‘plucky’, showered BB with affection and praise  _ all the time _ . Somehow, it totally came off as a legit Gals-as-Pals vibe, which was mildly disappointing to Nico. The weary tolerance BB would put on show totally failed to convince. Blushing, stammering, tsun-tsun shoving. That kind of thing.   
  
The two captive spectators were certain that BB was aiming to either break up the happy couple and get Genmaicha all to herself,  _ or _ situate herself into a menage a trois. Nozomi’s bet was on the first, given how forced-cold BB would be toward Sugar. Nico hoped the latter for  _ deeply  _ problematic voyeuristic reasons. One hella scandalous triangle and a fun thing to comment on now and again.   
  
This was the first time the three had come in together… and the dynamic they’d often wondered about would finally get to play out in person.   
  
Yes, it got that boring behind the counter.   
  
The three hesitated for a moment to review the daily specials before BB waved the other two off to come up and put in the order herself. Despite herself, Nico lingered nearby as she’d never heard the woman’s voice outside of the random outburst of protest from something Sugar did or the occasional laughter for Genmaicha.   
  
“Hey there, what can I get’cha?” Nozomi greeted. She was  _ way _ more familiar with the regulars than regulations suggested should be permitted, but corporate could shove it. It worked with this crowd.   
  
After flashing a half-smile, BB put in her order. It was almost as if she had built her aesthetic around her voice. Nico took care not to knock the syrups around too much so she could really take it in. Aloof. Disinterested. Smooth. Clear enunciation. Immediately irritating, both because her tone (and $14.76 drink) practically screamed ‘I toss out more money every week than you make for survival in a month’ and because of Nico’s reaction to the order itself.   
  
There was something weirdly alluring about a woman who looked  _ that _ put together who dropped more espresso shots than flavor pumps into her drink. This thing would taste like burnt cigarettes swimming in battery acid, but (if memory served) BB’d nurse it like it was the only thing that brought joy into her bitter bitter life.   
  
Not for the first time, Nico acknowledged she had weird tastes.   
  
Nozomi slid the cups Nico’s way and batted her eyes as a few more patrons filled in behind BB. As the only two on-staff at the moment, she immediately set to work. A welcome distraction. Part of why Nozomi loved bringing up that particular triangle was because she knew what Nico liked.   
  
That was the  _ other _ reason Nico tried to keep names out of the equation. Somehow she felt less guilty about fantasizing if there weren’t names involved.   
  
So, instead of indulging in her old favorite, “Daydream the Pretty Girl Saying Your Name During Compromising Situations,’ Nico set to work on that septuple shot espresso that would hold up the line for so long. Nothing like tedious work that required your full attention to take your mind off the fact that you hadn’t cuddled up with anyone in over five years… and a full on sexual dry-spell that went back even further.   
  
Nozomi took care of Genmaicha’s order (dispense water, add tea ball) and set to Sugar’s when it turned out that the line was mostly for the samples and a few pastries. This was fine. Part of what made the job so tolerable was how strangely satisfying Nico found the process of pulling a good espresso.   
  
By the time she finished the seventh however, she was more than happy to set the three orders up for pickup, getting BB’s attention with a few taps on the counter. Apparently, the other two girls had been watching and quickly joined the redhead.   
  
Sugar took one look at Genmaicha’s which Nozomi had actually labeled “Genmaicha Girl” and laughed, “Looks like they got you pegged, Kayo!”   
  
“Aww! Look! Your’s says Sugar Pop! That suits you so well!”   
  
Nico’s spine froze. Cold sweat broke out and her throat felt way too full to say anything. She barely managed to turn her eyes Nozomi’s way, and realized she would now be the champion of the next Top Ten Anime Betrayals list. That smile could  _ not _ be more wicked.   
  
Nico’s glance turned to the redhead, who was curiously turning hers around. Of course, right there on display for Nico, was ‘Bad Bitch’ in bold black. Genmaicha took one look at the cup as it turned and looked about as shocked as Nico felt.   
  
BB took one look, raised an eyebrow, looked at Nico through her bangs, and set her drink back on the counter. Nico could only watch as the now stoic redhead took an extra long look at Nico and then her name-tag as she scrawled on a post-it she pulled from her bedazzled clutch. After she finished writing whatever she was writing, probably Nico’s name to issue some sort of career destroying complaint, she did the weirdest thing.   
  
BB locked on with the eye contact. She held hot pink post-it up, wrapped it in four $20s,  _ slowly _ lowered it into the tip jar, smirked, winked, turned, and walked back to the table with a little more saunter than she’d ever dared to imagine those hips being capable.   
  
Nozomi… looked floored.   
  
Nico waited until all three were too busy with one another to notice her pulling the ludicrous tip out and checking the note… with the equally infuriatingly nice handwriting.   
  
‘Very nice.   
Lucky for you, you’re just my type.   
Let’s go with Maki from here on out.’   
  
At the bottom, a cell-phone number, a date (the coming Friday), and a suggested time.   
  
Nico walked to Nozomi, clasped hands with her (incidentally handing off half the tip), and confessed, “Sorry Nozomi. I’m going to need to swap with someone on Friday.”   
  
“You’re a regional manager. There’s no one you could switch with.”   
  
“Don't care.”   
  
  


* * *

**Author’s Notes:**   
  
My writing streak got broke pretty hard thanks to a yellow jacket thinking my drawing arm would be a great place to stick it’s butt. Anything more than clicking was… less than pleasant. Convention crunch time approaches, so time is even more limited. Matsuricon is this weekend over in Columbus. If any of you are in the area, swing by the Manifested Dreams booth in the Artist Alley and say hi <3.


	15. Gym

Her Tuesday-Thursday Seven’o’Clock rolled in as it always did, roaring in on a hot red Ninja. She’d fly in, rocket through the mostly empty parking lot, make a pass around the whole  _ way _ faster than law would consider permissible, and settle the bike on the far end of the lot. By the time she would walk from her ride to the door, she’d have her jacket draped over a shoulder and her helmet looped on a finger.   
  
Nico didn’t need to admit to her coworker and best bud Eli that this was the highlight of her work week.   
  
Maki Nishikino. At 32, she was two years younger, but thanks to what must have been an intense life-long regimen she was slim, fit, and honestly way past what her usual clientel would require. Distant and professional. She’d stroll in, demand to be pushed, tip generously, and leave with minimal chatter.   
  
She was also  _ absurdly _ attractive. For the past two years, she’d penned in for frequent appointments on Nico’s training schedule. Nico’s exclusively after only two other trainers tried and failed to hold her interest. Nico’s secret? Be merciless. Zero compassion. Just as Maki was clearly there for a reason, Nico took her job seriously enough to not permit personal curiosity and levity get in the way of her desire to see results.   
  
As a result, Ms. 5’9” Redhead Nishikino had managed to get away with only sharing a few morsels of personal information. Most related to her fitness regimen. Her arm and shoulder physique was attributed to both her occupation as a massage therapist and her pastime of playing piano. Her desire for better cardio correlated to a combination of interest in marathoning and ‘because it’s what I’m paying you for.’ A heated dismissal over the phone with someone warranting a picture being attached to their phone number suggested a physical interest in women (Thank you, whoever you are, Honoka Minami), and that was about it.   
  
Two years.   
  
Naturally, with a track record like that, Nico was surprised when the redhead bypassed the coat-rack she usually left her helmet on and pressed it directly into her chest.   
  
“Bust my ass today. Think you can do that?” she challenged.   
  
Nico, who had been watching the woman approach while she and Eli busted Nozomi’s (Eli’s poor girlfriend) ass, had to double-blink before shrug-replying, “It’s your funeral, Nishikino.”   
  
The woman just continued to prowl on toward the locker room. Nozomi took a break from the row machine to watch her pass. “Hot damn,” she breathed, “Elicchi, did Nico swipe one of your hot regulars?”   
  
“Please,” Nico interrupted, “Just because she got lucky with  _ you _ doesn’t mean she gets  _ all _ the eye candy around here.”   
  
“Nicocchi!” Nozomi gasped.   
  
“What? El’ got good taste in ladies an’ I could watch you row on that thing for days.”   
  
“Hey, that’s my girlfriend you’re oogling,” Eli groaned in protest.   
  
“Nicocchi’s thirsty~” Nozomi flirted, leaning back to strike a pose, earning an amused snort from Nico.   
  
“Yeah, yeah. You ladies keep playing. Nico’s gonna go take a sip,” Nico left in parting.   
  
A quick stop at her station for a couple towels and a pair of iced waters. A glance around the hall revealing Eli, Nozomi, sweet old Grandma Suri, mousy little Koizumi grinding away on the treadmill. Pretty quiet night. Nico padded her way over to the entrance to the locker room and took a spot on the wall.   
  
Before long, the moody redhead stalked out. Spandex sportwear. Expensive like her ride. Eyes locking on Nico’s. Nico tossed her a water and asked, “So, am I busting your ass in particular, or are we sticking with your scheduled upper body tonight?”   
  
Maki tore off the cap of her bottle and aggressively sucked out half of it before breaking eye contact. She wiped her mouth and shrugged, “Make me sweat. If I leave here and I’m not aching, you’re not doing your job.”   
  
“A’ight,” Nico acquiesed in turning, “Warm up on the treadmill. Fifteen minutes. Then we’ll hit the bench. We’ll see how far you make it before you’re crying.”   
  
A ghost of a smirk and the redhead was bounding off for the treadmill. The bit of sadist in Nico was looking forward to this. The completely unprofessional voyeristic bisexual whose last tryst with Hoshizora at the juice bar was half a decade ago… she  _ always _ looked forward to this.   
  
Two miles on the treadmill. Light speed reps to get the redhead’s guns warm and then some power curls to get them burning. Nico systematically guided her unusually intense, growlier-than-usual customer through the priming process before tossing her a towel and ordering, “A’ight, get on the bench. It’s time you quit slackin’ off.”   
  
Sweat was already running down her arms and shoulders. Beading on her core. Something was bothering the woman. Something hard. Raw. Sadism took a side seat and Nico demanded, “Toss another fourty-five on each side. I thought you were here to work.”   
  
The redhead hesitated, but quickly followed through. She lined up under the bar, grit her teeth, and pulled it off, Nico’s hands hovering over just in case she was mistaken.   
  
Obviously, she wasn’t.   
  
As one cautious rep turned to seven, Nico praised, “Didn’t think you had it in you? Please. I know what you got in that tank.”   
  
Maki grit her teeth, taking her eyes off the bar and growling, “The hell do you know?”   
  
“I know you got three more before you think you’re done. Then you think you’re gonna put that bar down and walk away.”   
  
Maki pounded out two as Nico continued, “Except you’re not. You’re gonna give me five more after because I’ve been a good girl this year.”   
  
Maki pressed to eleven and growled, “I’m not doing this for you.”   
  
“Damn straight you’re not,” Nico pushed as Maki grit deeper and hit a slow thirteen, “You push for  _ you _ . Fuck the rest. I saw that look earlier. You didn’t think you could do  _ one _ . How many was that?”   
  
“Four…  _ teen _ ,” Maki rumbled through. Nico’s hands got in position. The bar was shakey as it lowered again.   
  
“Good number. Got with my first girl at fourteen. I think you can do better. You think you can do better than fourteen?”   
  
Maki’s glare was centered on the bar. Her face was red and her mouth curled with spite, “I… can do that. No problem.”   
  
The redhead dug deep, pushed, and as soon as the bar cleared, Nico commanded, “Damn straight you can, now shelf that shit.”   
  
Nico helped guide it in, the bar slamming into place as Maki, panting, let her arms flop loose to the sides. When it became clear she wasn’t budging, Nico smacked the bar above her client and demanded, “Hey, none of that. Get up. Stretch it out. You just pushed some serious weight. Stretch it out. Take a drink.”   
  
Maki did as she was told, grimacing at something only she could see. When the grimace didn’t fade and a lip bite added to the display, Nico crouched at her side. She remained a moment, clearly in view, before offering, “You okay to keep going?”   
  
Maki clenched her eyes and nodded. Her breathing evened out a little. Nico slapped her on the back and continued, “Take that drink. Stretch it out again. I’m gonna kick the shit out of your core next.”   
  
Again with the grimace. Maki nodded. Nico gave her space. It felt like intruding to see the usual unflappable hotcake on the verge of tears. If she wanted it to come out as sweat instead, Nico could oblige.   
  
Weighted crunches, chin-touches, and a bit of planking rounded out the evening. With how vicious Nico was being with the intensity, Maki seemed taken off guard when she tossed her the second towel and bottle and said, “If you wanna sweat it out any more than that, go hit the sauna. If we keep going, you’re gonna get overworked. This artist knows how not to fuck up a masterpiece.”   
  
Maki downed her bottle greedily, but looked deeply unsatisfied. Nico took a chance, “If you think it’ll take more than sweat to work through whatever’s goin’ on with you, I could join you.”   
  
“In the sauna?” Maki asked, surprised.   
  
“You’re my favorite client. I worked you hard today and you look like you could use some after-care.”   
  
Maki shot her a confused smirk, “Interesting phrasing there.”   
  
“Hey, you tell me about yours, maybe I’ll share a bit of mine,” Nico shrugged. Internally, Nico was immediately berating herself for overstepping. She needed all the contracts she could get… and Nishikino was one of her best regulars.   
  
Fortunately, whatever was eating the redhead was apparently bad enough to warrant the breach of protocol. The woman shook her head as she stood and, in a low voice no less, answered, “I’m going to hit the shower first. I’ll… see you in there?”   
  
“It’s dead in here tonight. Take your time,” Nico assured before turning to pick up the discarded towels.    
  
A quick glance behind meeting one from Maki who was on her way to the locker room was quickly averted. What was she  _ doing _ ? Deep breath. Bottles in the recycling. Towels in the hamper. A panicked look Eli’s way prompting her and She of the Magnificent Chest to convene at the desks.   
  
“Wait, seriously?” Eli deadpanned, “Nishikino?”   
  
“Nicocchi! I’m so proud of you!” Nozomi quietly cheered, “It’s been so long!”   
  
“It’s not like that!” Nico answered harshly, annoyed enough to surprise herself, “I’ve never seen her look like that. Of  _ course _ I’m going to want to help!”   
  
Eli sobered, but Nozomi looked even more delighted as Nico continued, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going over to the sauna to lend her an ear. Try to steer people away from there if you could?”   
  
She turned and almost stomped away. Instead of feeling better or at least calmed down, now she was all fired up and irritated. Irritated and insecure about the whole thing. This really  _ was _ a fairly significant violation of policy… and she wasn’t entirely certain that her motivations were as purely altruistic as she insisted.   
  
She… didn’t expect to be so upset at seeing the redhead so out of sorts… and she’d be lying if she said she weren’t interested. Just as she was readying herself to apologize to her client and back off, she noticed Koizumi at the juice bar. Again. Flirting with Hoshizora. The ache steeled her.   
  
Just because Nico Yazawa had only been enough to relieve boredom with once or twice didn’t mean she couldn’t try being there for someone else in other ways. She growled and stalked toward the lockers.   
  
Maki was still in the showers. Nico  _ had _ been pretty tough on her today. She shucked her shirt. Kicked off her shorts. Frowned at the mirror. Peeled off the rest and threw it all into her locker. Nico grabbed a towel and really took a more thorough look at herself. Tight-lipped, she focused on everything she’d worked hard on. Things she could affect. Trim. Fit. Toned. The parts that mattered. The parts she made for herself.   
  
She shook it off. Towel around her trunk and carrying another to sit on, Nico padded to the sauna. Nothing was going to happen. Definitely not in the sauna. This wasn’t that kind of offering. She sat down and breathed deep. She usually hated it in here, but since she’d personally scrubbed it down earlier in the week, she felt more at ease.   
  
Saunas were freakin’ gross.   
  
What  _ wasn’t _ gross, was the view Nico had shortly after acclimating to the air. Dripping wet hair, towel haphazardly draped over her shoulders with nothing else cloth-related in sight, dark sharp eyes that sought her’s immediately. The ache returned and her chest tightened.   
  
She draped the towel on the bench a level down from Nico and straddled it. Maki half-turned and looked up through her bangs.   
  
“... I’ve had a shit week.”   
  
“I’m listening.”   
  
  


* * *

  
**Author's Notes:**  
Matsuricon kicked our butts, but in a good way. Typed this up on the commute back from Columbus. I'm glad I put the comic on brief hiatus so I can catch up on commissions.  
Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get some time to crank a few more of these out. This is another one I'd like to come back to. A lot of the limited writing time I've had has been dropped into Berserker and Nishikino has been poking at me for weeks to get back to it. Being busy is the pits.  
  



End file.
